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SB Nation Mock Draft: The Royals select OF Trevor Larnach

We mock the draft so you don’t have to.

By Max Rieper and Shaun Newkirk
NCAA Baseball: College World Series-LSU vs Oregon State Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

There are mock drafts everywhere, but here at SB Nation we have gone the extra step of having the fan of each team make the selection of who we would select, not necessarily who the team would select. Each team site has had a writer making picks and writing about the selection, which you can read when the first round is complete. In the meantime, here are the picks so far.

SB Nation MLB Mock Draft

Pick Team Player School
Pick Team Player School
1 Tigers RHP Casey Mize University of Auburn
2 Giants RHP Brady Singer University of Florida
3 Phillies 3B Alec Bohm Wichita State University
4 White Sox C Joey Bart Georgia Tech University
5 Reds 2B Nick Madrigal Oregon State University
6 Mets RHP Matthew Liberatore Mountain Ridge HS (Arizona)
7 Padres LHP Ryan Weathers Loretto HS (Tennessee)
8 Braves RHP Carter Stewart Eau Gallie HS (Florida)
9 Athletics SS Xavier Edwards North Broward Prep (Florida)
10 Pirates RHP Cole Winn Orange Lutheran HS (California)
11 Orioles 3B Jonathan India University of Florida
12 Blue Jays LHP Shane McClanahan University of South Florida
13 Marlins RHP Kumar Rocker North Oconee HS (Georgia)
14 Mariners OF Jarred Kelenic Waukesha West HS (Wisconsin)
15 Rangers OF Connor Scott Plant HS (Florida)
16 Rays OF Travis Swaggerty University of South Alabama
17 Angels LHP Ryan Rolison University of Mississippi

And with the #18 pick, the Royals select.....outfielder Trevor Larnach of Oregon State University.

Here is Royals Review Director of Scouting, Shaun Newkirk:

Given the option between what the Royals will do and what I would do, the answers will be very diverged. The Royals like raw players, and I do as well with the right player, but I also think that perhaps organizations can overrate their ability to convert tools into product. The Royals would likely take a high school pitcher here (Cole Wilcox, Mason Denaburg), but I’d rather lean on a hitter given the present choice of players left in this exercise.

My preference came down between prep 3B Nolan Gorman (who if on draft day was still available at this pick means something went very wrong for him) and college outfielder Trevor Larnach. I’m going to chose the latter. While I like Gorman and his immense raw power, I think Larnach offers similar raw power, a better present hit tool, and he dominated the PAC-12. Yes, Gorman has the better defensive position but the difference between third base and a corner position isn’t that extreme from a positional adjustment standpoint and certainly isn’t enough to fill the gap for me of a good college hitter vs a raw high school one.

The left-handed hitting Larnach is batting .324/.447/.637 with 17 home runs in 204 plate appearance for the Beavers this year. Baseball America writes that “some area scouts believe he could tap into 25-plus home runs as a pro” and that he profiles as a corner outfielder. They rank him as the 27th-best player in this draft, while MLB.com ranks him 26th. You can read a full profile of him over at Minor League Ball.

The best available at this pick, according to BA is prep infielder Brice Turang, followed by prep third baseman Nolan Gorman, University of Florida pitcher Jackson Kowar, high school pitcher Ethan Hankins, and Stetson University pitcher Logan Gilbert. MLB.com has Gorman as the best player on the board, followed by Kowar, Gilbert, high school pitcher Cole Wilcox, and prep first baseman Triston Casas.

Shaun and Patrick Brennan also participated in the mock draft at Minor League Ball.

What do you think? Who would you have taken at this pick?

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