Guardians take shortstop in MLB mock draft

The MLB Draft is about a month away and now is the time to start focusing on what each might might do. A mock draft from Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter has the Cleveland Guardians making a rather predictable selection at 23, shortstop Colt Emerson. The reasoning from Reuter appears below and is quite solid.

The Guardians are a logical landing spot for one of the remaining prep shortstops still on the board, and Emerson plays his high school ball two hours south of Progressive Field in New Concord, Ohio. The Cleveland front office has valued youth in the past, and Emerson does not turn 18 years old until a few days after the draft. He has a 60-hit/50-power offensive profile and handled the hot corner well for the U-18 Team USA squad last summer.

Even when removing the relative close proximity and youth of Emerson from the equation this selection would still make sense. Looking at the Guardians farm system there is one particular area that possesses a ton of depth, middle infield. Cleveland has what can only be described as a logjam in the middle infield, but that is by design.

The most athletic and versatile players are shortstops, so if there is a move that has to be made to accomodate other established players this the ideal starting point. As mentioned by Reuter, Emerson did play third base for Team USA and that could be an intriguing proposition should Cleveland make him their selection.

There is a ton of time before potentially drafting Emerson and when/if his MLB debut comes, but looking at things from a big picture persepective, Jose Ramirez is not going to play forever. Other players currently in the system and those acquired via trade or free agency may get their shot first, but things could be a lot worse than having a potential successor work his way through the minor league system. That is if the Guardians end up selecting Emerson in next month's draft.