2033 Mock Draft

This is possibly the deepest draft class in recent memory, which should allow for quite a bit of parity and unpredictability. Expect the unexpected on draft night!

Pick	Team	Player	Position	Age	Pick Analysis
1	Carolina	Jose Medina	SP	21	With the emphasis being so much on starting pitching, it is hard to pass up a 21 year old who would be an ace on three quarters of the teams in the league. At 21, Medina has the potential to be the best starter in the league within two to three years, and will likely stay that way for quite some time. This pick also gives Carolina possibly the scariest rotation in the league with (sorry Toronto, but your is rotation aging and you lost Christopher Kent to free agency) Medina, and the team's top pick in the last two drafts, lefty Nicolas Castro-Irizabal and righty Ivan Rodriguez Jr. This makes the Colonists a contender, if their GM decides to finally go all in...
2	Los Angeles Dodgers	Earl Hardy Jr.	SP/RP	20	Let the recclaimation project begin. The once mighty Dodgers are now faced with a full rebuild with an aging and underperforming roster, and few notable prospects. Hardy, the legendary Earl Hardy, will undoubtedly be placed in the rotation, and will become the team's ace from day one. He has an immensely high ceiling, perhaps a tick higher than Medina, but anyone would be happy if he fell to number two, something that is highly unlikely in any year other than this.
3	Minnesota	David Maxwell-Walker	RF	24	New year, another new Minnesota GM. The team does have some decent prospects in place, such as ace Heung-Min Son, and third baseman Nathaniel Windsor, but the team still needs quite a bit of work. With the consensus top two starters off the board, and the luxury of second first round pick, the clear choice is DMW. Although DeAngelo Ortiz has a much higher immediate impact bat, and more power potential, DMW has a much higher ceiling, and is a true 5 tool player. He holds arguably the best glove in the class, and is a future Hall of Famer. Can't go wrong though at number three.
4	San Antonio	DeAngelo Ortiz	1B	24	The failed Brandon O'Brien experiment from a few years back has not given Alamos fans much hope, but this pick might. In any other draft year, DeAngelo Ortiz is a Top 3 pick, but he falls to number four because of the depth in this year's class. Ortiz is one of the slowest players in the draft, and scouts warn of a poor work ethic, which could lead to poor progression as a hitter, but even if he stays put, this pick is fantastic. He is the best pure power hitter to come out of the draft in a decade, and although he appears destined to be a lifetime DH, there is no argument to pick anyone else here.
5	Boston	Hector Lunar	SP	22	Oswaldo Naza was an excellent start to the BoSox rebuild, and Patrick Black was almost as good a few picks later. This year, a tough decision faces Boston with the consensus top 4 already off the board. In a division with the heavy hitting Baltimore and Toronto, a deep rotation is and will always be necessary. Lunar will not be asked to be a difference maker right off the bat with Naza, Eli Varnes, and Moises Alou already in the rotation, but he is a key young piece to develop for a year or two down the road behind Naza, and will benefit from the time he will be given to develop. Smart pick for a team that does have an additional first round pick this year.
6	Sao Paolo	Jack Rickles	SS	24	Sao Paolo has a brighter future than some may expect, with a fairly deep rotation, and a couple of good offensive pieces in place. In a league where depth at shortstop is always questionable, it is hard to pass up on Rickles at number 6. He is more of a contact hitter, but he is a key cog in the middle of any lineup, and has a bright future ahead of him. Good pickup for a team that could compete for a Wild Card spot this year.
7	Seoul	Manuel Pina II	SP	24	Although Marvin Mitchell is the top player left at number seven, and the idea within the Top 10 should normally be best available, Chris Ripken isn't going anywhere soon in Seoul. The team does struggle on the mound, however, and Pina will definitely remedy that. He isn't going to turn into an immediate ace, but given a few years, he projects as a Top 10 pitcher in the league, something the Red Devils need desperately.
8	Portland	Marvin Mitchell	3B	23	Mitchell is a power hitting third baseman who would become the key centerpiece of an atrocious Loggers offense. The team does have some good pitching pieces already in place, so Mitchell is the only choice at number 8.
9	Miami	Elio Palmiero	LF	20	Miami doesn't have much going for them at the moment, but they do have two first round draft picks this year. Without a clear top pitcher remaining, Palmiero heads down to South Beach. The Marlins get lucky with the top offensive 20 year old in the draft at the bottom of the Top 10, but they will need to look at pitching with their second pick.
10	Detroit	Jean Valentine	RF	22	No longer does Detroit hold the 1st Pick (they have had it 2 years running quite recently), and for good reason. Ignacio Aja has been as good as advertised the last two years, and some smart selections in the past few years have their team stocked full of talented youngesters. Third Baseman Tracy Huston looks poised for a break out season, outfielder Javi Salas has been good in his first two seasons, and the team found a diamond in the rough in centerfielder Leo Diego Villa, the former rookie of the year who is coming off of his first career All-Star appearance, and set the single season steals record last year at 122. Former number 1 overall pick Jim Speith has struggled, and likely will need to shake off the "bust" mutterings soon or else find himself out of a job. With few holes to fill, Valentine improve an already up and coming outfield, and makes Detroit's young offense begin to look a bit similar to Seattle's of a few years ago.
11	New York Yankees	Cho Jo-Moon	C	24	The craftiest GM in the league has a history of bold and shocking first round picks (ED Redpath anyone?), but without a catcher on the roster, he goes safe and predictable here. Jo-Moon isn't the best catcher to come out in recent years, but he has a bright enough future to be a quality every day player in New York for the next decade. This is also a pick that has the potential to be traded, as the Yanks may look elsewhere for that young catcher they covet.
12	Victoria (formerly Osaka)	North West	CF	22	An aging roster that doesn't have much hope of improving soon, Victoria looks destined for a run of Top 5 picks in the near future. With that in mind, West is a fantastic pick. He is just young enough that he won't be on the wrong side of 30 by the time the team is competitive, but he is also good enough to build around. Key pickup at number 12.
13	St. Louis	Louis DiSimone	2B	23	Another team with a relatively barren prospect pool, St. Louis needs young talent so as not to waste last year's picks (starters Tata Carvalho and Ian Huntley) best years. DiSimone fills an immediate and future need at second base, so a smart pick for a Cardinals team that used to rule the NL North, and now is trying to claw their way back to relavance.
14	Texas	Mahmoud Diab	SP	23	Texas has a high octane offense in place, and with a few moves could find themselves in playoff contention very soon. However, their rotation is where the majority of their improvement will need to come, and that forces them to make decisions such as this. Diab has been heavily criticized as pigheaded, overhyped, and lazy, but the Rangers need their pitching. With the year he had this past year, Diab would have easily gone in the Top 10, but he WILL slip, and the team that grabs him could be in for a world of hurt if he doesn't produce. This is a clear boom or bust pick and 14, and Texas can't afford for this to be a bust.
15	Milwaukee	De'Anthony Early	SP	21	The Brew Crew has perrenial MVP candidate Alfonso Corriguila and former rookie of the year Mike Tirico on the roster, but admittedly not much else. This could mean that those two could find themselves out of Milwuakee very soon, and the team likely will struggle to compete this year. Early projects as a competitive 2/3 starter, so he likely gets the call based on his projectability rather than recent track record.
16	Shanghai	Richard Rockefeller	3B	23	Shanghai is one of those teams that is always in the hunt, but struggles to get over the hump. They do have some depth at starter in their system, so a best player on the board strategy is the best one here. Rockefeller is a good pickup with the recent lack of offensive depth leaguewide at third base, so Shanghai will likely hope that he develops into an offensive contributor soon.
17	Brooklyn	Vasily Petrov	2B	22	Brooklyn finally saw its hard work pay off this season, and were in the playoff hunt for the majority of it. Haven Fielder is going to be a superstar, and Gary Howard could be headed there in a few years. Petrov isn't going to start from day one; Jose Calderon is fully entrenched as the everyday second baseman. However, Petrov has enough upside to replace Calderon in a few years, so this is a smart CYA pick for the Americans.
18	Colorado	Lamar Culpepper	SP	22	Colorado has some high upside, and some low downside to their roster. They have little prospect depth in their rotation, so Culpepper should help. He is a mid-level fireballer, and will be a good #3 in the future.
19	Tokyo	Danilo Pulido	CF	20	Tokyo does have some quality pieces in place, but their problem lays with their aging centerfielders. though three remain on the roster, the youngest is 32. Pulido should give them a competitive piece in two or more years.
20	Los Angeles Angels	Ishinosuke Uwano	RF	20	This is another team with a deadly rotation, but their struggles have always been on offense. Uwano will toil in the minors for a few years before getting his shot, but he has a high enough ceiling that the Angels should not balk at here at number 20.
21	Atlanta	Baudilo Salazar	RP	23	Atlanta has a lot of good young players, and a history of developing its own bullpen. With few high end prospects still available, it is hard to pass on Salazar, by far the best reliever in the class.
22	Boston (from HOU)	Alec Gilfillan Jr.	RF	20	Boston took an ace with their first pick, now they take the speediest player in the class. This is a gem this late, and gives the Sox a deadly speed threat for the next 15 years.
23	Minnesota (from CHW)	Simon Perkowski	SP/RP	20	Perkowski isn't a thoroughly exhilarating prospect, but he is young enough that he could develop into a solid 3 starter. This is a good depth pick for the Twins.
24	Miami (from PHI)	Jacob Saban	SP/RP	20	Miami's pitching problems are well documented. Saban could develop well given the right resources, but don't expect more than a 3 starter out of this pick. He is an incredibly efficient pitcher, and will not walk many hitters, but he will need to control his hits in order to be successful.
25	Baltimore	Joba Chamberlain Jr.	RP	20	Baltimore's rotation may have actually surpassed Toronto's as the most dominant in the league (though we will see what the Blue Jays do in Free Agency), and they do have some offensive firepower on hand. They could use some cheap bullpen depth, and Chamberlain Jr. will offer them that for quite some time. It is a good thing to develop your own bullpen, and the Orioles will benefit from this pick for quite some time.
26	Washington	Anton Hiller	SS	20	Shortstop depth is minimal leaguewide, so this is a smart pick for a playoff contender with no immediate and fillable holes.
27	Mexico City	Roberto Sojo	CF	20	Mexico City is coming off of their best season as a club, and therefore don't have many holes to fill. The best player available is Sojo, so why not?
28	San Francisco				The Giants pick will be auto drafted due to the absence of their GM
29	Chicago Cubs	Hideki Moshi	LF	22	This is a very competitive Cubs squad who are in the record books as the best Cubs team of all time. This is yet another best available pick for a playoff contender, so Moshi is a no brainer.
30	Seattle	Roscoe Ivory	C	23	Catcher was always the trouble spot for Seattle, and with Kent Katt now gone in free agency, they need to address the issue again. Last year's second round pick David Montague is not the answer, and although Ivory is no barn burner, he is a young prospect to develop.
31	New York Mets	Marlow Curry	1B	20	New York doesn't have a single hole, so they grab Curry, the best player on the board.
32	Toronto	Aaron Rodgers Jr.	RP	20	Toronto doesn't have ANY holes, and have won back to back World Series Titles, so where they go really doesn't matter a whole lot with this pick. Knowning rxk, he will likely grab a young bullpen arm to develop for the future, so at age 20, Rodgers Jr. fits perfectly.