Major League Baseball

MLB mock draft sampler: No consensus for D-backs

Published May. 15, 2015 7:26 p.m. ET

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Three credible Major League Baseball mock drafts landed in the past week, and they clearly spell out the predicament that the Diamondbacks are in.

Namely that there is no Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper or David Price waiting to be anointed as a superstar in the making.

The consensus seems to lean toward Florida high school shortstop Brendan Rodgers as the No. 1 prospect in the draft, but he's no sure thing, and several years away. And none of our three expert mocks predict the Diamondbacks going that direction.

But that's the only thing the three experts agree on when it comes to the D-backs. Each suggests a different target while intimating that the Diamondbacks themselves are wrestling with uncertainy.

Baseball America's latest mock, released Friday, has the D-backs going with Vanderbilt right-handed pitcher Carson Fulmer, who it describes as "the surest big leaguer on the board, with a floor of elite closer, His makeup, competitiveness and athleticism are starting to out-weigh the doubts scouts have about the head whack in his delivery and lack of ideal size.

Fangraphs has them going for Fulmer's college teammate, shortstop Dansby Swanson, while acknowledging that the pick is very much in flux and quoting one scout who said it sounds like they are going to do something crazy."

Meanwhile, MLB.com's draft board has UC-Santa Barbara right-hander Dillon Tate as the D-backs man.

By way of comparison, Fulmer was picked third by MLB.com and seventh by Fangraphs; Dansby was picked second by Baseball America and fifth by MLB.com; and Tate was picked third by Fangraphs and fourth by Baseball America.

Sounds as if we should expect lots of back and forth between now and the draft on June 8.

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