We’re more than halfway through the college season and on the verge of another in-season draft board update. In the meantime, it’s time to conduct another Baseball America staff draft following our first iteration last month.
Six BA writers came together to make picks for big league teams as if we were the ones calling the shots. As always, this staff draft is not a mock draft. In our mock drafts, we attempt to project what the teams themselves will do on draft day. In this exercise, it’s purely based on who we personally would take.
You can see how the 50 picks unfolded in the table below, with pick-by-pick rationales for each selection after that.
BA Staff Draft 2.0 Results
| pick | round | team | writer | player | position | School | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Nationals | Peter | Eli Willits | SS | Fort Cobb-Broxton (Okla.) HS | 12 |
| 2 | 1 | Angels | JJ | Jamie Arnold | LHP | FSU | 1 |
| 3 | 1 | Mariners | Jacob | Seth Hernandez | RHP | Corona (Calif.) HS | 4 |
| 4 | 1 | Rockies | Carlos | Ethan Holliday | SS | Stillwater (Okla.) HS | 2 |
| 5 | 1 | Cardinals | Ben | Aiva Arquette | SS | Oregon State | 5 |
| 6 | 1 | Pirates | Geoff | Billy Carlson | SS | Corona (Calif.) HS | 10 |
| 7 | 1 | Marlins | Peter | Kade Anderson | LHP | LSU | 40 |
| 8 | 1 | Blue Jays | JJ | Jace LaViolette | OF | Texas A&M | 9 |
| 9 | 1 | Reds | Jacob | Liam Doyle | LHP | Tennessee | 16 |
| 10 | 1 | White Sox | Carlos | Marek Houston | SS | Wake Forest | 6 |
| 11 | 1 | Athletics | Ben | Ethan Conrad | OF | Wake Forest | 22 |
| 12 | 1 | Rangers | Geoff | Steele Hall | SS | Hewitt-Trussville (Ala.) HS | 23 |
| 13 | 1 | Giants | Peter | Kayson Cunningham | SS | Johnson HS, San Antonio | 13 |
| 14 | 1 | Rays | JJ | Ike Irish | C | Auburn | 24 |
| 15 | 1 | Red Sox | Jacob | Tyler Bremner | RHP | UC Santa Barbara | 3 |
| 16 | 1 | Twins | Carlos | Jojo Parker | SS | Purvis (Miss.) HS | 56 |
| 17 | 1 | Cubs | Ben | Xavier Neyens | SS | Mount Vernon (Wash.) HS | 11 |
| 18 | 1 | D-backs | Geoff | Kyson Witherspoon | RHP | Oklahoma | 17 |
| 19 | 1 | Orioles | Peter | Dean Curley | SS | Tennessee | 7 |
| 20 | 1 | Brewers | JJ | Kruz Schoolcraft | LHP | Sunset HS, Portland, Ore. | 8 |
| 21 | 1 | Astros | Jacob | Jack Bauer | LHP | Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort, Ill. | 68 |
| 22 | 1 | Braves | Carlos | Daniel Pierce | SS | Mill Creek HS, Hoschton, Ga. | 59 |
| 23 | 1 | Royals | Ben | Kyle Lodise | SS | Georgia Tech | 236 |
| 24 | 1 | Tigers | Geoff | Cameron Appenzeller | LHP | Glenwood HS, Chatham, Ill | 27 |
| 25 | 1 | Padres | Peter | Gavin Kilen | 2B | Tennessee | 28 |
| 26 | 1 | Phillies | JJ | Luke Stevenson | C | North Carolina | 14 |
| 27 | 1 | Guardians | Jacob | Wehiwa Aloy | SS | Arkansas | 25 |
| 28 | PPI | Royals | Carlos | Josh Hammond | SS | Wesleyan Christian Academy, High Point, N.C. | 39 |
| 29 | 1-C | D-backs | Ben | Cam Cannarella | OF | Clemson | 20 |
| 30 | 1-C | Orioles | Geoff | Mason Neville | OF | Oregon | 186 |
| 31 | 1-C | Orioles | Peter | Briggs McKenzie | LHP | Corinth Holders HS, Wendell, N.C. | 36 |
| 32 | 1-C | Brewers | JJ | Alex Lodise | SS | Florida State | 143 |
| 33 | 1-S | Red Sox | Jacob | Brandon Compton | OF | Arizona State | 15 |
| 34 | 1-S | Tigers | Carlos | Andrew Fischer | 1B | Tennessee | 70 |
| 35 | 1-S | Mariners | Ben | Brady Ebel | SS | Corona (Calif.) HS | 26 |
| 36 | 1-S | Twins | Geoff | Korbyn Dickerson | OF | Indiana | 167 |
| 37 | 1-S | Rays | Peter | Caden Bodine | C | Coastal Carolina | 21 |