Mock Draft roundup: Athletics strongly connected to college bats

Travis Bazzana and Nick Kurtz are the two players linked to Oakland in the updated mock drafts

The MLB draft is less than a month away, starting on July 16th, and it is going to be a huge day in Athletics history as they hold the #4 overall selection. They’ll have a chance to get some of the top talent in the draft, and it seems the expectation is for them to go with a college hitter. This fits with two trends - one the history of Oakland and their usage of top draft picks, and two the strength of this draft at the top being college hitting.

First ESPN and Keith Law, who on June 19th released this mock draft, which projects Wake Forest first baseman Nick Kurtz to the A’s. The left-handed Kurtz is the third-ranked prospect for ESPN’s draft prospects, and would bring immediate offensive impact to a system short in that category. Kurtz’s numbers have dipped overall this season somewhat thanks to a shoulder injury that slowed him early in the season, but he still finished with 22 home runs, a 1.294 OPS, and an NCAA-leading 78 walks to 42 strikeouts. The results for first baseman taken at the top of the draft has been dismal in the past decade or so, but Kurtz features a rare offensive ceiling though the bar for first baseman offensively is of course much higher.

Also on the 19th we got Kiley McDaniel and ESPN, one of two mock drafts to project Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana to the Athletics. Bazzana is McDaniel’s second-rated prospect overall, and I have to say I’m a huge fan of him if he were to slip to Oakland at fourth. Bazzana does everything well, playing an up-the-middle defensive spot, making contact at an elite rate, showing off great zone recognition, and featuring improving raw power that now projects to above average or even plus. If Bazzana makes it to four, which isn’t exactly a guarantee, it seems almost a lock that the Athletics would pick him up and put him on a fast track to the major leagues. McDaniel also drew connections to Kurtz.

The other mock draft to place Bazzana at fourth came from our friends at Baseball America on June 17th. As Carlos Collazo notes there are scouts who feel Bazzana is the best prospect in this draft, and it would be a steal for Oakland given their typical targets to get a player like him at 4th. Baseball America sees him as the second-best prospect behind Charlie Condon. Bazzana ranks second in NCAA baseball in walks behind Kurtz with 76 and has a 1.479 OPS with 28 home runs. Should Bazzana not be an option, Baseball America also sees a connection to Kurtz here, along with Jac Caglianone of Florida and Braden Montgomery of Texas A&M.

Speaking of Braden Montgomery — that is who Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline projected to the A’s on June 13th. In this mock draft Bazzana and Condon are gone by the time the Athletics pick, leaving them with a choice between a handful of college bats of which they see Oakland going with Montgomery. Montgomery is dealing with an ankle injury right now, but Pipeline’s 8th-ranked prospect had a terrific spring with a 1.187 OPS and 27 home runs. His ability to stick in the outfield gives him a bit higher ceiling than Caglianone and Kurtz, though he is the only player of the group mentioned who had more strikeouts than walks this season. There is a bit more swing-and-miss than you might often see from a top-of-the-draft college hitter in Montgomery, but he possesses athletic and power potential that makes him an intriguing get though not as MLB ready as Kurtz or Bazzana.