Byron Buxton follows in the footsteps of former top outfield prospects Jeff Franceour and Jason Heyward from the state of Georgia
Now that the calendar has finally turned to January, Major League Baseball’s draft season is just getting fired up. The college season will be starting soon, with the high school campaign set to follow shortly thereafter.
The 2012 draft crop has nowhere near the elite talent of the 2010 crop (Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and Jameson Taillon), and nowhere near the depth of the 2011 class, but that’s not to say that there isn’t any future MVP or Cy Young talent to be found.
On the contrary. The 2012 class is big on ceiling, with many of its top names (Mark Appel, Byron Buxton, David Dahl, Chris Beck, etc.) still yet to have a truly dominating season. The hope with these players is that the best is still yet to come.
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to set the final draft order until the beginning of the 2012 big league season, seeing as how several big-name free agents have yet to sign, and therefore compensation for their losses has yet to be handed out.
Still, there’s a good chance that with the exception of an awarded compensation pick for Milwaukee for eventually losing Prince Fielder, the first round will look a lot like it does right now.
So, without further ado, let’s delve into the first full first-round mock draft of 2012. Free free to check out the picks in greater depth over at Bleacher Report, in the full-blown version done by yours truly.
1) Houston Astros- Mark Appel, RHP, Stanford
2) Minnesota Twins- Deven Marrero, SS, Arizona State
3) Seattle Mariners- Byron Buxton, OF, Appling County HS (GA)
4) Baltimore Orioles- Victor Roache, OF, Georgia Southern
5) Kansas City Royals- Lucas Giolito, RHP, Harvard-Westlake HS (CA)
6) Chicago Cubs- Walker Weickel, RHP, Olympia HS (FL)
7) San Diego Padres- Gavin Cecchini, SS, Barbe HS (LA)
8) Pittsburgh Pirates- David Dahl, OF, Oak Mountain HS (AL)
9) Miami Marlins- Mike Zunino, C, Florida
10) Colorado Rockies- Chris Beck, RHP, Georgia Southern
11) Oakland Athletics- Kevin Gausman, RHP, LSU
12) New York Mets- Matt Smoral, LHP, Solon HS (OH)
13) Chicago White Sox- Michael Wacha, RHP, Texas A&M
14) Cincinnati Reds- Jake Barrett, RHP, Arizona State
15) Cleveland Indians- Lance McCullers Jr., RHP, Tampa Jesuit Prep (FL)
16) Washington Nationals- Brian Johnson, LHP, Florida
17) Toronto Blue Jays- Albert Almora, OF, Mater Academy (FL)
18) Los Angeles Dodgers- Trey Williams, 3B, Valencia HS (CA)
19) St. Louis Cardinals (comp for Pujols)- Stryker Trahan, C, Acadiana HS (CA)
20) San Francisco Giants- Max Fried, LHP, Harvard-Westlake HS (CA)
21) Atlanta Braves- Duane Underwood, RHP, Pope HS (GA)
22) Toronto Blue Jays (comp for Beede)- Marcus Stroman, RHP, Duke
23) St. Louis Cardinals- Travis Stankowski, OF, Stony Brook
24) Boston Red Sox- Hunter Virant, LHP, Camarillo HS (CA)
25) Tampa Bay Rays- Carlos Correa, SS/3B, Puerto Rican Baseball Academy
26) Arizona Diamondbacks- Adam Brett Walker, OF/1B, Jacksonville
27) Detroit Tigers- Joey Gallo, 1B, Bishop Gorman HS (NV)
28) Milwaukee Brewers- Mitchell Traver, RHP, Houston Christian HS (TX)
29) Texas Rangers- Courtney Hawkins, OF/RHP, Carroll HS (TX)
30) New York Yankees- Kenny Diekroeger, SS, Stanford
31) Boston Red Sox (comp for Papelbon)- Ty Hensley, RHP, Santa Fe HS (OK)
MLB Draft Countdown 