Mock

Finally. Baseball fans have long awaited this day when their teams’ futures will get a little brighter, and DraftAmerica will take a stab at making the most accurate prediction of what the first round of the 2014 amateur draft will look like. Without further ado, the 2014 mock draft:

1. Houston Astros, Brady Aiken, LHP, Cathedral Catholic HS (CA)

Skinny: The Astros tab Aiken as the first high school pitcher to be taken No. 1 since 1991. A future ace in the mold of Cole Hamels, he deserves the hype.

2. Miami Marlins, Carlos Rodon, LHP, North Carolina State

Skinny: Maybe Alex Jackson, but Jeffrey Loria is too dead-set on adding another potential Cuban-American ace to the mix in the near future.

3. Chicago White Sox, Tyler Kolek, RHP, Shepherd HS (TX)

Skinny: Again Jackson is tempting, but hard to envision the Sox passing on the flame-throwing Kolek at No. 3.

4. Chicago Cubs, Alex Jackson, C/OF, Rancho Bernardo HS (CA)

Skinny: Finally, the position player eagle has landed. Jackson probably projects as an outfielder long-term with the Cubbies.

5. Minnesota Twins, Aaron Nola, RHP, LSU

Skinny: Minnesota could use some long-term pitching prospects and Nola’s rising stock makes him a logical fit at No. 5.

6. Seattle Mariners, Nick Gordon, SS, Olympia HS (FL)

Skinny: Dee’s bro and son of Flash, Nick Gordon will bring immediate excitement to the Mariners’ farm system and could be in the bigs sooner than later.

7. Philadelphia Phillies, Michael Conforto, OF, Oregon State

Skinny: The Phillies are aging fast in the outfield and Conforto could ultimately provide some sizzle for the suddenly punchless Phillies offense.

8. Colorado Rockies, Kyle Freeland, LHP, Evansville

Skinny: The Coors Field dwellers can never have enough pitching, so Freeland makes plenty of sense to land in Denver soon.

9. Toronto Blue Jays, Trea Turner, SS, North Carolina State

Skinny: What a spot for the Jays, with two picks in the top 11. They can go position player with Turner then turn to pitching.

10. New York Mets, Bradley Zimmer, OF, San Francisco

Skinny: Zimmer hasn’t been universally projected to go in the top 10, but he is a tough-minded player from a family of athletes that could be a solid fit for the Mets organization and he has a higher ceiling than people think.

11. Toronto Blue Jays, Jeff Hoffman, RHP, East Carolina

Skinny: Sort of a perfect scenario for Toronto. With a second first-round pick to play with, the Jays can gamble a little on the injured Hoffman, who was a top five selection prior to his arm issues.

12. Milwaukee Brewers, Tyler Beede, RHP, Vanderbilt

Skinny: Another possible “reach,” Beede embodies the pitching depth of this class and is a big-bodied, durable pitcher that was drafted No. 21 in 2011 by Toronto but didn’t sign and has ace-like stuff. With proper development, he could be a front-line starter down the road.

13. San Diego Padres, Max Pentecost, C, Kennessaw State

Skinny: A line-drive hitting catcher has to appeal to the offense-starved Padres, who have Yasmani Grandal but can never feel too comfortable with any part of their offense.

14. San Francisco Giants, Sean Newcomb, LHP, Hartford

Skinny: Newcomb doesn’t get a lot of pub nationally but is a big lefty that needs to harness some command issues. Still, his stuff has scouts buzzing.

15. Los Angeles Angels, Touki Toussaint, RHP, Coral Springs HS (FL)

Skinny: Another power arm with fluid mechanics, Toussaint simply needs more experience, as he has only played the game for about five years. He comes with quite an upside.

16. Arizona Diamondbacks, Derek Hill, OF, Elk Grove HS (CA)

Skinny: Perhaps the best pure outfielder in the draft, Hill needs to bulk up to pose more of a power threat but he is skilled and athletic and ran a 6.44 60-yard dash.

17. Kansas City Royals, Erick Fedde, RHP, UNLV

Skinny: Maybe Tommy John surgery just doesn’t scare teams anymore. If Fedde rounds back into form, he could turn into a front-end guy for the Royals with a mid-90’s fastball with sink and plus-slider.

18. Washington Nationals, Grant Holmes, RHP, Conway HS (SC)

Skinny: Conway’s secondary pitches are starting to garner positive attention. He already possesses a mid-90’s fastball, but with a potentially dominant curve, Holmes is making quite a name for himself as of late.

19. Cincinnati Reds, Brandon Finnegan, LHP, TCU

Skinny: There are some injury concerns surrounding Finnegan, but the power lefty’s stellar season has given his stock a major boost.

20. Tampa Bay Rays, Kyle Schwarber, C/1B, Indiana

Skinny: Though he projects as more of a first baseman down the road, Schwarber has plenty of power potential that should appeal to the Rays. He is big and bulky but that is precisely the type of player the Rays are lacking.

21. Cleveland Indians, Casey Gillaspie, 1B, Wichita State

Skinny: Gillaspie offers a lot of upside as a switch-hitter who has some speed as well. The younger brother of current White Sox infielder Conor was picked in the first round by the Giants in 2008.

22. Los Angeles Dodgers, Nick Burdi, RHP, Louisville

Skinny: Kershaw. Greinke. Ryu. Burdi? The young righty can reach triple-digits with his fastball and was selected by the Twins in 2011, though scouts wonder if his stiff delivery could lead to injury down the road. The potential is definitely there.

23. Detroit Tigers, Alex Blandino, 3B, Stanford

Skinny: Though Blandino is viewed somewhat as a “solid but unspectacular” player, he has a strong all-around skill set and a great eye at the plate.

24. Pittsburgh Pirates, Sean Reid-Foley, RHP, Sandalwood HS (FL)

Skinny: A budding strikeout pitcher with a mid-90’s fastball and a sharp curveball, Reid-Foley would be a nice addition to a Pirates organization that has had its fair share of misses on pitchers in the draft.

25. Oakland Athletics, Ti’Quan Forbes, SS, Columbia HS (MS)

Skinny: Forbes is tall and rangy and has terrific bat speed but is a work in progress. He has committed to Ole Miss.

26. Boston Red Sox, Luis Ortiz, RHP, Sanger HS (CA)

Skinny: The Fresno State commit has a deep arsenal of pitches and was a bona fide top 20 pick prior to a forearm injury at the start of the year.

27. St. Louis Cardinals, Jacob Gatewood, SS, Clovis HS (CA)

Skinny: The Cardinals have had a void at short for a while and the 6’5”, 200-pound Gatewood could be the answer, though he also projects as a third baseman.