Happy Draft Day! The event that I and many others have been looking forward to for months is finally upon us. I have done multiple versions of a mock draft, and after gathering all the information I could I am ready to give you my final mock for the 2011 draft.

1. Pittsburgh Pirates – RHP Gerrit Cole – UCLA
2. Seattle Mariners – 3B Anthony Rendon – Rice
3. Arizona Diamondbacks – LHP Danny Hultzen – Virginia
4. Baltimore Orioles – RHP Dylan Bundy – Owasso HS(OK)
5. Kansas City Royals – RHP Matt Barnes – Connecticut
6. Washington Nationals – RHP Trevor Bauer – UCLA
7. Arizona Diamondbacks – SS Francisco Lindor – Montaverde Academy(FL)
8. Cleveland Indians – RHP Sonny Gray – Vanderbilt
9. Chicago Cubs – OF Bubba Starling – Gardner-Edgerton HS(KS)
10. San Diego Padres – OF George Springer – Connecticut
11. Houston Astros – RHP Taylor Jungmann – Texas
12. Milwaukee Brewers – RHP Archie Bradley – Muskogee HS(OK)
13. New York Mets – LHP Jed Bradley – Georgia Tech
14. Florida Marlins – OF Mikie Mahtook – LSU
15. Milwaukee Brewers – RHP Alex Meyer – Kentucky
16. Oakland Athletics – SS Cory Spangenberg – Indian River CC
17. Los Angeles Dodgers – SS Javier Baez – Arlington County Day School(FL)
18. Los Angeles Angels – RHP Taylor Guerrieri – Spring Valley HS(SC)
19. Boston Red Sox – C Andrew Susac – Oregon State
20. Colorado Rockies – SS Levi Michael – North Carolina
21. Toronto Blue Jays – 1B CJ Cron – Utah
22. St Louis Cardinals – 2B Kolten Wong – Hawaii
23. Washington Nationals – LHP Daniel Norris – Johnson City HS(TN)
24. Tampa Bay Rays – RHP Jose Fernandez – Alonso HS(FL)
25. San Diego Padres – LHP Joe Ross – Bishop O’Dowd HS(CA)
26. Boston Red Sox – OF Brandon Nimmo – East HS(WYO)
27. Cincinnati Reds – LHP Tyler Anderson – Oregon
28. Atlanta Braves – LHP Henry Owens – Edison HS(CA)
29. San Francisco Giants – RHP Robert Stephenson – Alhambra HS(CA)
30. Minnesota Twins – OF Brian Goodwin – Miami Dade JC
31. Tampa Bay Rays – OF Alex Dickerson – Indiana
32. Tampa Bay Rays – LHP Josh Osich – Oregon State
33. Texas Rangers – C Blake Swihart – Cleveland HS(NM)

I decided I will do either 5 or 6 versions of my mock draft. Here for version 4 I will change it up a bit and give you a little write-up as to why each pick will be made along with obviously who the pick is. I still can’t take Gerrit Cole from the #1 spot, to me he is the #1 prospect in the draft and he’s not far from the bigs, can’t pass on him.

1. Pittsburgh Pirates – RHP Gerrit Cole – UCLA – #1 player in the draft for me. Hultzen, Rendon get consideration but have to go with #1 guy on board. He would be Pitt’s ace before long, and would be for a long time.

2. Seattle Mariners – 3B Anthony Rendon – Rice – #1a player in the draft for me. Might get some debate for Francisco Lindor and Dylan Bundy, but I think Seattle’s heart is set on Rendon unless he goes #1.

3. Arizona Diamondbacks – LHP Danny Hultzen – Virginia – Will get debate at #1, but if he doesn’t go there he will not get past 3. All of Arizona’s FO has checked out Hultzen on numerous occasions. Highest floor in the draft. Combine that with a high ceiling makes for a very good pitching prospect.

4. Baltimore Orioles – RHP Dylan Bundy – Owasso HS(OK) – They will go with the best prep pitcher in the class at 4 and not look back. Bundy has a shot to be a legit stud and is looked at as a fast track HS kid (think 2-2.5 years). His brother is in Baltimore’s system already.

5. Kansas City Royals – RHP Matt Barnes – Connecticut – KC is taking a college arm here. They really like Barnes, so unless Cole or Hultzen fall to 5 I see Barnes as their guy.

6. Washington Nationals – RHP Alex Meyer – Kentucky – Nationals like Meyer a lot. They love his stuff and his big frame. They think they can really mold him into the front line starter he has the potential to be.

7. Arizona Diamondbacks – RHP Trevor Bauer – UCLA – best player available that’s signable. With #7 being unprotected the D’Backs can’t waste the pick on a guy like say Bubba Starling who is a tough sign. Bauer has legit #2 potential to boot.

8. Cleveland Indians – RHP Sonny Gray – Vanderbilt – Indians will stick to around slot here. Gray should sign for a decent dollar amount and provide top of the rotation type potential for the rising Indians.

9. Chicago Cubs – OF/RHP Bubba Starling – Gardner-Edgerton HS(KS) – Cubs are not afraid to spend in the draft, and the fact that they get a potential superstar and bona-fide top 5 talent to drop to them at 9 is great. I’d be stunned if Starling got past them.

10. San Diego Padres – SS Francisco Lindor – Montaverde Academy(FL) – Yes the pick is unprotected, they could go college arm like Taylor Jungmann or Jed Bradley. But all indications are that Francisco Lindor is extremely signable and most scouts are unanimous that Lindor has a chance to be a stud. Not sure if Padres can pass on that.

11. Houston Astros – RHP Taylor Jungmann – Texas – Houston tends to be a slot team, and with new ownership that probably won’t change yet. Jungmann is a local kid which they like, and he provides #2/#3 workhorse type starter potential.

12. Milwaukee Brewers – LHP Jed Bradley – Georgia Tech – Milwaukee could go Archie Bradley or Taylor Guerrieri here with their unprotected pick, but I have them taking a fast track college lefty whom most rank as a top 10 pick. He falls, the Brewers bite.

13. New York Mets – RHP Archie Bradley – Muskogee HS(OK) – All signs indicate Mets will go best player available. If that is true there is little debate that Bradley is the best player available. Has a plus fastball and arguably best curve in the draft, is unanimously the #2 prep arm behind Bundy. Mets have spent in the 1st round, don’t see why 2011 would be different.

14. Florida Marlins – RHP Taylor Guerrieri – Spring Valley HS(SC) – Marlins are expected to go power arm here. Archie Bradley likely tops their list, but Guerrieri is quite the consolation prize.

15. Milwaukee Brewers – SS Cory Spangenberg – Indian River CC – stock is rising a ton for Spangenberg. Will even be in discussion as high as #10. Is between a 70 and 80 on 20-80 scale for speed and scouts really like his swing too. Questions about where he’ll end up defensively, but if he finds a defensive home I smell a very good lead-off hitter.

16. Los Angeles Dodgers – SS Javier Baez – Arlington County Day School(FL) – lightning quick bat speed, likely a 3B as a pro. Most scouts think he’s a well above average 3B defensively and offensively. With the severe financial concerns the Dodgers have, it makes Baez a good pick. He’s very signable and provides good upside.

17. Los Angeles Angels – RHP Jose Fernandez – Alonso HS(FL) – Expectation is Angels will go high school at 17. Fernandez, Daniel Norris and Josh Bell all likely to merit consideration. Fernandez has velocity to dream on, hitting 98 on the gun this spring in baseball central near Tampa. Provides great upside and good value at 17.

18. Oakland Athletics – OF George Springer – Connecticut – Could go much higher than this, again probably in discussion at #10 and almost every pick between. A’s luck out in getting a potential 5 tool 25/25 type player.

19. Boston Red Sox – C Blake Swihart – Cleveland HS(NM) – The best catcher in the draft class. Questions about signability, but that rarely is any type of a concern for the Red Sox. He looks like he’ll stick behind the plate if you are patient with him. His bat will be plus behind the dish, could also play 3B and 2B.

20. Colorado Rockies – OF Mikie Mahtook – LSU – Has a chance to go as high as 13 to the Mets, with the Brewers also likely considering him. Rockies love him, and belief is that there’s no way he gets past 20 if he even makes it there. Mahtook is a college hitter who has taken to the new bats very well, concerns if he is a CF. If not a CF his potential is a bit more limited because he doesn’t have big power that you’d expect from a corner outfielder.

21. Toronto Blue Jays – OF Josh Bell – Jesuit College Prep, Dallas – Some would say the best prep bat in the draft. He looks like a guy who will make contact at a high level and provide plus power. Not smooth defensively, probably a LF in pro ball, but most scouts believe he will hit, and hit a lot.

22. St Louis Cardinals – SS Levi Michael – North Carolina – There are talks of HS OF Larry Greene, and Cardinals are never afraid to go prep or overpay a college kid who falls, nor do you ever draft for need. But in this instance I feel they will go with Michael who looks like an SS long term who can hit and play the field a bit. His intangibles are what scouts really love, and he could be up in short order. The way he plays the game would be loved in St Louis.

23. Washington Nationals – OF Brian Goodwin – Miami Dade JC – Goodwin is a potential 5 tool outfielder who can play a solid center. Was suspended for the season by North Carolina for violating university policy, so he went to a junior college and is expected to go mid-late first round. He’s a bit of a work in progress but he is a very good prospect. A nice grab at 23.

24. Tampa Bay Rays – C/1B CJ Cron – Utah – Cron is said to have near an 80 rating on the power scale. That is really elite power territory, problem is he doesn’t have a position and may end up a DH. But if he does his bat will likely play for it. Potential clean-up hitter in not long order for Tampa, even if he DH’s.

25. San Diego Padres – LHP Tyler Anderson – Oregon – Expectation is college pitcher at 25. Anderson seems probable, but I am sure they will give consideration to Anthony Meo, John Stilson and if healthy maybe even Matt Purke.

26. Boston Red Sox – LHP Joe Ross – Bishop O’Dowd HS(CA) – Will the Red Sox go prep twice in the first round? Doubtful. But unless they are risking on Purke, which they can probably wait until the sandwich round to do, an arm like Ross makes sense. Clean mechanics and solid FB velocity with a hard curve gives Ross some good upside. Higher upside than his brother Tyson who pitches in Oakland.

27. Cincinnati Reds – RHP Anthony Meo – Coastal Carolina – Power arm with a good slider. Some see closer long term, but he maintains his velocity throughout the game which leads some to believe if he improves a changeup he’s a quality starting pitcher. Reds are looking college so they can get someone up there quicker as the Reds are likely the class of the NL Central for the next few years.

28. Atlanta Braves – LHP Henry Owens – Edison HS(CA) – Teams in the teens like Owens, so he could go there. Signability is a bit of a concern, but he has great and improving stuff from the left side. Low 90’s fastball with a good curve and developing change-up. Has a nice frame at 6’7 200, could be a real steal at 28 for Atlanta.

29. San Francisco Giants – LHP Daniel Norris – Science Hill HS(TN) – Norris was once thought of as the top prep LHP, and probable top 10 pick in the draft. But his command has dipped and his secondary pitches have lacked this year which dipped him below Owens in some scouts eyes. But he still has great projectability and a strong fastball from the left side. Giants do a phenomenal job developing pitching, they could make Norris into a stud.

30. Minnesota Twins – RHP John Stilson – Texas A+M – Big time stuff out of this right hander. Mid 90’s fastball, plus slider and a lagging change-up. Many see him as a closer long term, but he has maintained velocity throughout games this year leading some to believe he just has to work hard on the change-up and you’ll have yourself a quality starter. Could be one of the first from this class to reach MLB.

31. Tampa Bay Rays – C Andrew Susac – Oregon State – Broke his hamate bone, but has come back looking normal. Most saw him as a mid teens-low 20’s type pick, but there is always some concern that your power will be zapped a bit by the hamate injury. Still projects as an above average every day MLB catcher. The Rays with so many picks have to take some signable college kids. Cron and Susac are both signable and are both quality picks at the selected spots. Not overdrafts. They stay within the realm of best player available with both those selections.

32. Tampa Bay Rays – OF Larry Greene – Berrien County HS(GA) – Now here is where I have the Rays first shelling out some bucks. Greene has questions about position as well as ability to make contact. But on the flip side he has light tower raw power which has some people comparing him to Ryan Howard, which may be lofty. Teams are talking about him higher than this, but the Rays could take him and pay him and add yet another potential gem to their system.

33. Texas Rangers – RHP Tyler Beede – Lawrence Academy(MA) – Many possibilities for the Rangers here, but I’ll give them the top northeast prep pitcher in Beede. He has an extremely clean delivery, nice frame to go with low-mid 90’s fastball and above average curveball. His stuff, and lack of overuse from being in the northeast make him desireable to teams.

Here in Part 2 of my MLB Draft Q+A series I had the chance to talk with Nick Faleries from Diamond Scape Scouting. Nick has tremendous content over at DSS, and he also worked this year with an NL organization as an associate scout in the midwest region. You can follow him on Twitter by clicking HERE. For my Q+A series I have asked the same questions to all 4 people to get differing opinions on the topics.

PSL2F: Who do you like at #1 Gerrit Cole or Anthony Rendon and why?

Nick Faleris: It’s still Rendon, for me. I’ve had the pleasure of watching him up close twice for several days in a row — first at the College Classic at Minute Maid last spring, and second through the USA Collegiate National Team Trials last summer — and a couple dozen times on scouting video and television. He is just a ton of fun to watch, and literally does everything well. Last spring I noted his glove and creativity at third base was being drastically overshadowed by his bat, and I think if you spoke to Area Scouts that have been following him for a while they’d
agree. Entering this year the national media was giving him more credit across his game, and it is well deserved. The injuries are frustrating because you’d like to have that summer of wood bat play, but I’d pop him 1:1 without hesitation this year.

PSL2F: Personal favorite of mine is Trevor Bauer from UCLA. What is your take on him, and where in the draft do you think he goes?

Nick Faleris: I guess I’m lower on Bauer than you and the national media outlets seem to be. He might be the best college arm in the nation, but I have doubts it translates to the best future pro arm. I think his best attribute is his head. He has a way of thinking around issues on the mound and coming-up with the right approach in a given situation. There is a lot of deception, and the stuff is good, as well. Some kids throw three-way fastballs (cut, sink, run), but Bauer actually throws multiple pitches multiple ways. It has to be incredibly frustrating for college bats. At
the next level, I think he starts to run into hitters with better pitch ID and an ability to lay off the more gimmicky stuff. He’s definitely a 1st Round arm, but there are four or five college arms higher on my preference list.

PSL2F: Who do you think is the biggest sleeper that will go much higher than people think?

Nick Faleris: This would have been a fun question at the beginning of the season! I had Tyler Anderson, Joe Panik, Kyle Winkler and Andrew Chafin all as Day 1 guys, and I think all of them are probably now in that range on most boards, pro and media. Right now, I think Johnny Eierman (mif/of, Warsaw HS, Warsaw, Mo.) might be the guy that the casual draft fan doesn’t know about yet, but who who could get popped in the 1st Round. Great athlete with power potential that should stick up-the-middle, either at second base or in center field.

PSL2F: On the other side of the scale who do you think is losing the most stock and will go much later than people think?

Nick Faleris: Tough question, as it only takes one team liking a kid for him to come off the board early. I guess I’ll go with Mikie Mahtook (of, LSU). He was the guy the national media outlets jumped into the Mid-1st Round after a really strong start, but has been more good than great over the last month. His game was raw this past summer, and while I see improvement on both sides, I don’t think he’s a quick mover as a pro, nor do I think the power will necessarily be there right away. There are also little things like the lines he takes on the bases, and his first few steps tracking a ball off the bat, that will need to be cleaned-up. If I had to guess I’d say he’s coming off the board on Day 1. But folks relying on the usual suspects reporting on the draft could expect 11-15 range and see him sticking around into the sandwich round.

PSL2F: What are the strengths and weaknesses of this draft class?

Nick Faleris: Strength is pitching, and particularly the college arms up top, high school righties, and more generally big fastballs. Weakness is high school lefties, college bats and middle-infielders. The overall depth of the draft is pretty impressive, also, considering a lot of the college bats projected up top have struggled some this spring.

PSL2F: The Mets have been near the basement as far as draft spending goes over the last few years. Do you believe that will change under the new regime as they claim? Or do you think it’s a smokescreen and we will be reading excuses come August 15th?

Nick Faleris: I’m of the school that believes a front office gets the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. If they say they want to spend, I have no issue believing it. That doesn’t mean I don’t wholly understand Mets fans being suspicious. If the money is there to spend, the draft is a nice place to utilize it — particularly if they start moving some of their contracts this summer.

PSL2F: How big do you think this draft is for the Mets? They right now have a roughly middle of the pack farm system, and with the possibility that they trade Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez among others is there a legit chance this team has a top 10 farm in baseball come August 15?

Nick Faleris: Another tough question. Ultimately depends on the haul they’d get from
moving those players, I’d think. I can’t see Kansas City, Tampa, Toronto, or San Diego slipping, and Boston, Cleveland, Colorado, New York (A) and Texas all seem like safe bets to be in or near the top third somewhere. It seems unlikely, to me, that the Mets will jump all the way up into the Top 10, based on the current strength of these organizations, not to mention all the extra picks some of them have in June. At the same time, all it takes is a little bad luck (injury/performance) to make a nice crop of kids look a little less certain. They struck gold, I think, with Harvey last year — who I believe we had as a Top 5 overall talent. He is going to be much higher on the national prospect lists next year than he was this winter. If the Mets get back a couple impact prospects in trade and
nab a college or high school arm that slips to 13, that will be a nice start. There should also be a chance to pop some high upside talent that slips in this deep draft.

PSL2F: If you ran the Mets who are three players that you would be targeting that could realistically be there at #13?

Nick Faleris: My preference list this year (due to depth) would be tiered up top, and then ordered in those tiers based on signability, off-field factors and organizational need. I go four tiers deep to get to pick 13, but think the Mets will be in a position to land someone out of our current Top 10 overall. If I had to choose three guys, well, I can’t. So I’ll give you five to focus on that could potentially be there at 1:13. Archie Bradley (rhp, Broken Arrow HS, Broken Arrow, Okla.), Matt Barnes (rhp, UConn), Blake Swihart (c/utl, Cleveland HS, Rancho Rio, N.M.), Daniel Norris (lhp, Science Hill HS, Johnson City, Tenn.) and Francisco Lindor (ss, Montverde HS, Montverde).

PSL2F: Lastly, who are your three favorite draft prospects not named Cole or Rendon and why?

Nick Faleris: I like this question a lot. Rather than ticking down the top of my preference list, I’ll go with one early-1st Rounder, one mid/late-1st Round and one player outside of the 1st Round. Up top, give me Derek “Bubba” Starling (of/rhp, Garnder Edgerton HS, Gardner, Kan.) by a hair over Sonny Gray (rhp, Vandy). He’s had his attention divided between three sports (two this year — football/baseball) and was still clearly one of, if not the, best player on the field throughout the summer scouting circuit. More importantly, he showed he’s coachable, and quick to implement instruction. He could really surprise folks with how quickly he moves, considering the “raw” label slapped on him.

Mid/Late-1st Round I go with Josh Bell (of, Jesuit Collegiate Prep, Dallas, Texas). He is a big boy that can really hit. Squares-up high velo without trouble, shows some feel at the plate and does a solid job putting together a game plan. His base running and arm are going to jump as he improves his mechanics with pro instruction. The best part is that he’s a big strong kid right now that is going to get even bigger and even stronger. His Dallas Patriots teammate Trevor Story (Irving HS, Irving, Texas) is another kid that national writers overlooked some early on but are now pushing some.

Outside of the 1st Round I’ll reach a little and go with Brad Miller (inf, Clemson Univ.). He has hit and hit and hit as long as I’ve followed him, and he if he grows into that broad frame balls are going to start finding the bleachers. Is he a shortstop long term? No. But he will hold down second base without issue, I think. In a year where the story has been down numbers due to the new BBCOR bats at the college level, he’s .437/.537/.592 with 33 BB to 26 SO and 20 SB to boot. Over the summer he lead Team USA with a .441 batting average — 80 points higher than Ryan Wright (inf, Lousiville), who was 2nd. He was 2nd in slugging and 1st in on-base percentage, as well. He deserves way more national attention than he gets.

I’d like to thank Nick for his time. He gave a lot of interesting info. You can again visit him at Diamond Scape Scouting, or follow him on Twitter. Next week we will post round 3.

In part 1 of what will end up being a 4 part series of Q+A’s on the MLB Draft, and more specifically how it pertains to the Mets. I touch on both the draft outside of the Mets because I really want readers to have an idea about the draft as a whole, not just people the Mets could consider when they pick #13 this year. For part 1 I got the opportunity to talk with ESPN and Prospect Insider‘s Jason Churchill. Jason does a fantastic job covering the draft for ESPN and PI. The content him and Keith Law put up at ESPN are well worth the ESPN Insider fee. Below is the transcript of my Q+A with Jason.

PSL2F: Who do you like at #1 Gerrit Cole or Anthony Rendon and why?

Jason Churchill: Cole. Rendon has not shown the kind of power this spring that warrants such a pick. There are concerns about his shoulder (I have it on good authority that it’s a fairly serious injury, not just soreness) but am unable to report what I have heard.

PSL2F: Personal favorite of mine is Trevor Bauer from UCLA. What is your take on him, and where in the draft do you think he goes?

Jason Churchill: I like Bauer, but even if we ignore the unorthodox delivery and training regimen, his stuff doesn’t warrant a top 5 pick for me. No. 2 starter ceiling, though, and it is difficult to see him lasting past 10.

PSL2F: Who do you think is the biggest sleeper that will go much higher than people think?

Jason Churchill: Francisco Lindor, SS, Montverde Academy. All the mocks and draft boards have Lindor between No. 9 and No. 18 but teams seem to like him enough for him to be gone between 4 and 7. Another one is Henry Owens, the lefty out of Hunting Beach, California. Very projectable, has a four pitch mix and I know of one club in the top 20 that really, really likes him and will consider him with that pick. UCLA commit Austin Hedges is another. Catchers don’t grow on trees.

PSL2F: On the other side of the scale who do you think is losing the most stock and will go much later than people think?

Jason Churchill: I think it’s Rendon, to be honest. He could change that with a strong final few weeks, however. Sonny Gray is losing some steam as well, as I wrote Wednesday.

PSL2F: What are the strengths and weaknesses of this draft class?

Jason Churchill: Pitching is far and away the strength, both college and prep. The weaknesses are power bats and quality talent at premium positions such as catcher and shortstop, but that is pretty typical. There could be 20 pitchers taken in the first round.

PSL2F: The Mets have been near the basement as far as draft spending goes over the last few years. Do you believe that will change under the new regime as they claim? Or do you think it’s a smokescreen and we will be reading excuses come August 15th?

Jason Churchill: I do not think they will break the bank, but I also don’t believe for one second that they will go “cheap” per se. I could see them taking the offensive equivalent of Matt Harvey. Maybe someone like George Springer, Mikie Mahtook or a prep bat with upside. Blake Swihart makes a lot of sense. Money isn’t going to be a huge problem, at least not in round 1.

PSL2F: How big do you think this draft is for the Mets? They right now have a roughly middle of the pack farm system, and with the possibility that they trade Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez among others is there a legit chance this team has a top 10 farm in baseball come August 15?

Jason Churchill: I think every draft is enormously important for clubs with money problems and in need of young talent. The draft is the best — and cheapest — way to acquire young talent. Clubs that miss on their high picks end up spending on unnecessary free agents, rushing their other prospects or losing 90-100 games per season. Take Seattle, for example. They chose No. 3, No. 5, and No. 11 in three successive seasons in 2005-2007. They selected Jeff Clement, Brandon Morrow and Phillippe Aumont with those picks. Clement didn’t pan out, Morrow was traded before he gave value and Aumont was traded for Cliff Lee. So now, the M’s are without any potential production any of those three drafts and it makes them a rebuilding upstart type at best rather than a potential contender. Are the M’s contenders in 2011 if they had taken Ryan Braun, Ryan Zimmerman or Troy Tulowitzki in ’05? Or had they kept Morrow or taken Lincecum instead in ’06? Or taken Jason Heyward in ’07?

What if they did two of the above three? The answer is probably YES. So, absolutely, I think it’s imperative that the Mets start hitting and hitting big in the draft, and the overall greatness of this class makes it that much more important that they get two or three big leaguers out of it, and at least one impact player.

PSL2F: If you ran the Mets who are three players that you would be targeting that could realistically be there at #13?

Jason Churchill: I like Swihart there, one of the college arms; Gray, Matt Barnes, Jed Bradley, and one of the prep arms; Dylan Bundy will be gone, but Taylor Guerrieri or Archie Bradley could be there. If George Springer is there, I would strongly consider him, too. If Lindor slips, though, he’s probably my pick.

PSL2F: Lastly, who are your three favorite draft prospects not named Cole or Rendon and why?

Jason Churchill: I like Oregon State’s Josh Osich, who I will see this coming Saturday, his battery mate Andrew Susac who just returned from a broken hamate bone and and Georgia Tech’s Jed Bradley. Bradley’s breaking ball is lacking right now but he carries more upside than Danny Hultzen and throws more strikes than Gray. But he’s also big and strong, unlike Bauer. More upside. Osich is a fighter and has come a long way after having Tommy John surgery. His stuff is ticking upward, though he’s not likely a first-round pick. Some team in the sandwich round or very early in round 2 may get a steal in the kid whose 90-93 mph fastball could continue to gain velocity. Susac is a leader with tools and performance to back it up. That tells me he’s Jason Varitek, Brian McCann and Brad Ausmus wrapped into one, if all works out in his favor. I know you asked for three, but it’s awfully tough not to love Lindor. Switch hitting shortstop with plus speed, plus arm, more than gap power from both sides of the plate and he’s just 17. Ridiculous.

I’d like to thank Jason for answering the questions for the site. You can again check out his work at ESPN and Prospect Insider. You can follow Jason on Twitter by clicking HERE. Part 2 of my Q+A’s should be up sometime next week.

Note to readers: This is not mock version 4.0. I decided to switch it up a little bit and I came up with my personal draft board. This is an opinion with help from information from mainstream sources such as ESPN and Baseball America as well as scouts that I’ve spoken to who watch these kids play, or work with people who watch them play. This is not necessarily the order these guys will/should get picked, but it’s how I’d rank them based on information given to me.

1. RHP Gerrit Cole – UCLA – You could easily argue Anthony Rendon here, but for me I go arm over bat unless there are concerns about the arm. Cole has struggled a bit of late, but his stuff has not regressed at all. Most equate it to trying to live up to expectations.

2. 3B Anthony Rendon – Rice – Could more or less label Rendon 1a because it’s that close. I am concerned about the multitude of injuries that have hit Rendon over the last couple years with his ankles, shoulder etc. He is still only DH’ing for Rice, but scouts aren’t concerned about that. He won’t go lower than 2 to Seattle. If you are Seattle and you can pair Rendon and Dustin Ackley you are pretty happy.

3. RHP Trevor Bauer – UCLA – Concerns about workload (seems he’s throwing 134+ pitches every outing) and his delivery. People said the same thing about Tim Lincecum and he turned out pretty well. Bauer led NCAA D-1 in strikeouts last year, and is again this year. He also set UCLA’s all time strike out and wins record this year. If he stays healthy and fends off the concerns Bauer could be a #1 type starter. Having him and Cole in the same rotation isn’t half bad for the Bruins.

4. RHP Dylan Bundy – Owasso HS (OK) – Bundy is the #1 prep arm in the draft, and he is a really good one. He has a fastball that has been clocked as high as 100 with a plus 12-6 hook. Change-up lags behind but shows promise. Very polished for a high school arm, gets some comparisons to Josh Johnson. Could go as high as #3.

5. OF Bubba Starling – Gardner-Edgerton HS(KS) – Starling is what you would call a 5 tool talent. Gets comparisons to Justin Upton. Starling plays a great outfield with a plus arm. He also shows great raw power to all fields and is a phenomenal athlete. He needs some work, but he has great work ethic and looks like the kind of kid who we will talk about in a few years as a legit star.

6. LHP Jed Bradley – Georgia Tech – Bradley to me doesn’t really have much work to do. He locates all of his pitches (fastball, slider, change) well from side to side as well as up and down, has plus velocity on his fastball and has a very clean delivery. Bradley to me is the cream of the crop as far as left-handed arms go in the 2011 draft. I am very excited to follow him in his likely quick path to the big leagues. One scout told me “after Cole and Rendon, (Jed) Bradley is the guy I’d take.”

7. LHP Danny Hultzen – Virginia – Quite possibly the biggest climber in the 2011 draft. Hultzen was considered a late 1st round-sandwich round type pick coming into the year, and now he has more or less cemented his place in the top 5 due to vastly improved velocity while maintaining the same good control he had. Hultzen was never really considered a power pitcher, and still isn’t despite having a fastball that has been clocked as high as 96 mph, though that velocity has regressed some of late. Still has a chance for a very good 3 pitch mix from the left side.

8. SS Francisco Lindor – Montverde Academy(FL) – From the scouts I’ve talked to, you either love Lindor or hate Lindor. But what they can all agree on is that Lindor is a kid who will stick at shortstop all through pro ball which is an extremely valuable commodity. There are some who think his hitting has progressed enough this spring to the point where they think that will translate through pro ball, while the skeptics say he’s hitting high school pitching, and not even necessarily top notch high school pitching and he will struggle in pro ball. Will need offensive adjustments, but he has the potential to be a very good shortstop, which nowadays could equate to a top 5 selection.

9. RHP Sonny Gray – Vanderbilt – Plus 4 seam fastball, plus 2 seam fastball, plus slider, and simply a get-me-over type change-up. Max effort delivery, small build (hello Roy Oswalt comparisons) so durability is a concern. Many think his future is as a lights out closer, but there are still some who hold hope that he can be a #1/#2 starter of the Oswalt mold.

10. RHP Taylor Guerrieri – Spring Valley HS(SC) – The other guy who would compete with Hultzen for biggest climber in the draft,. I didn’t know much about him until this spring, and man, am I glad he is around. Guerrieri has been sitting 95-97 this spring with a hammer curve. He hasn’t really thrown anything else, nor has he needed anything else. Nobody I spoke to liked him as much as Bundy but all agreed that he has an electric arm and great stuff. He is a top 10 type pick.

Next week I plan to reveal 11-20.

With the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft a mere 33 days away, I decided now was a good time to post my mock draft version 3.0. I have made significant changes in every version of my mock thus far. You can check out version 1.0 here, and then version 2.0 here.

1. Pittsburgh Pirates – RHP Gerrit Cole – UCLA
2. Seattle Mariners – 3B Anthony Rendon – Rice
3. Arizona Diamondbacks – OF Bubba Starling – Gardner-Edgerton HS(KS)
4. Baltimore Orioles – LHP Danny Hultzen – Virginia
5. Kansas City Royals – LHP Jed Bradley – Georgia Tech
6. Washington Nationals – RHP Sonny Gray – Vanderbilt
7. Arizona Diamondbacks – RHP Trevor Bauer – UCLA
8. Cleveland Indians – SS Francisco Lindor – Montverde Academy(FL)
9. Chicago Cubs – RHP Dylan Bundy – Owasso HS(OK)
10. San Diego Padres – RHP Matt Barnes – Connecticut
11. Houston Astros – RHP Taylor Jungmann – Texas
12. Milwaukee Brewers – RHP Taylor Guerrieri – Spring Valley HS(SC)
13. New York Mets – RHP Alex Meyer – Kentucky
14. Florida Marlins – OF George Springer – Connecticut
15. Milwaukee Brewers – OF Mikie Mahtook – LSU
16. Los Angeles Dodgers – C Blake Swihart – Cleveland HS(NM)
17. Los Angeles Angels – OF Josh Bell – Jesuit College Prep, Dallas
18. Oakland Athletics – LHP Tyler Anderson – Oregon
19. Boston Red Sox – C Andrew Susac – Oregon State
20. Colorado Rockies – RHP Archie Bradley – Muskogee HS(OK)
21. Toronto Blue Jays – RHP Dillon Howard – Searcy HS(ARK)
22. St Louis Cardinals – SS Levi Michael – North Carolina
23. Washington Nationals – RHP Jose Fernandez – Alonso HS(FL)
24. Tampa Bay Rays – RHP Anthony Meo – Coastal Carolina
25. San Diego Padres – LHP Daniel Norris – Johnson City HS(TN)
26. Boston Red Sox – RHP Joe Ross – Bishop O’Dowd HS(CA)
27. Cincinnati Reds – SS Cory Spangenberg – Indian River CC
28. Atlanta Braves – LHP Henry Owens – Edison HS(CA)
29. San Francisco Giants – OF Brian Goodwin – Miami Dade JC
30. Minnesota Twins – 2B Kolten Wong – Hawaii
31. Tampa Bay Rays – RHP John Stilson – Texas A+M
32. Tampa Bay Rays – 1B CJ Cron – Utah
33. Texas Rangers – RHP Tyler Beede – Lawrence Academy(MA)