Cleveland Indians: MLB Mock Draft roundup

The MLB Draft is less than two weeks away and the mock draft hype is heating up. Who do the experts have the Cleveland Indians drafting in 2018?

Mock drafts are an essential part of the NFL Draft hype, and everyone tries to be as accurate as possible. But the MLB Draft goes a little differently. It’s harder to predict who teams will want because there isn’t an obvious list of needs that the team is looking for. For the most part, it’s a true best player available approach.

Everyone views these draft prospects differently and has different ways of ranking the players, which makes predicting the outcome of the draft incredibly difficult. But nonetheless, people still try to predict the first round, and these are their mock draft results.

The Athletic

Xavier Edwards, SS, North Broward (FL) HS

We covered Edwards in our shortstop position preview and the writers at The Athletic agree that he would make an excellent selection. The Edwards pick is all about upside and that’s a word that you will hear a lot when it comes to the MLB Draft. Despite his smaller stature, Edwards can run and he makes a lot of contact.

Bleacher Report

Nick Schnell, OF, Roncalli (IN) HS

This is a newer name to the first round conversation as his draft stock has risen of late to now be considered as a late first round pick. Bleacher Report says that Schnell has the possibility of being a complete five tool contributor at the big league level.

The Louisville commit has no real weakness in his game with an advanced approach at the plate, good speed, and sound defense. He might take a bit to develop but the upside is definitely there.

MLB Pipeline

Noah Naylor, C, St, Joan of Arc Catholic (Ont.) HS

This Canadian backstop could be off the board way before the 29th pick in the draft because of his ability to stick behind the plate as he develops. This is the third straight prep bat that the Cleveland Indians have been connected to.

The Tribe already has a catching logjam right now, but by the time Naylor is ready, maybe that’s cleared up or a need is present. You never know what a team will need four or five years from now, and if the Indians want to keep that position productive, Naylor would make a nice pick.

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Alek Thomas, OF, Mount Carmel (Ill) HS

MLB Pipeline also included the 35th overall pick in their mock draft and it’s held by the Cleveland Indians. Thomas was profiled in our outfield position preview and his stock has continued to rise into the first round conversation.

DraftSite.com

Tristan Beck, RHP, Stanford

The Indians are going with a college arm in this mock draft and Beck was drafted just last year in the 28th round by the Yankees. He missed all of his 2017 college season with a stress fracture in his back.

But he’s back healthy this year and has a 2.79 ERA in 13 starts, showing that he hasn’t missed a beat from his dominant freshman season.

CBS Sports

Alek Thomas, OF, Mount Carmel (Ill) HS

CBS has Thomas going six picks earlier than MLB Pipeline and being selected with the 29th overall pick. He’s worked his way into that late first round and based on the Indians past selections, the left handed outfielder would make sense for what the Tribe is looking for.

He’s been compared to Andrew Benintendi, and getting a player like that in the Indians system is fine by me.

Sporting News

Tristan Beck, RHP, Stanford

Beck is once again connected to the Tribe. Adding pitching to the organization should always be a priority for every team. The Indians pride themselves on their rotation and ability to develop starting pitchers and keeping that talent pipeline full is vital to long term success.

Fangraphs

Alek Thomas, OF, Mount Carmel (Ill) HS

Fangraphs has heard that the Indians are high on Thomas as well as fellow outfielders Mike Siani and Steele Walker, while being connected to a lot of high school talents, and Siani and Thomas are two of them.

AZ Central

Cole Wilcox, RHP, Heritage (GA) HS

Wilcox has three plus pitches and reaches the mid-90s with his fastball. He’s got a great changeup and his big frame of 6’5″ and 220 lbs gives him a good chance of remaining as a starting pitcher in the big leagues.

The two names the Indians have been connected to the most are outfielder Alek Thomas and pitcher Tristan Beck. Picking so late in the first round leaves several variables in front of the Indians that could drastically change the draft board when the Tribe gets on the clock.

Next: 3 corner infielders to know for the MLB Draft

With several early picks, the Indians are poised to add several top tier talents to their organization in this year’s MLB draft.