Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis differ on who Texas will take at #3
2022 MLB Draft: The final mock draft from MLB Pipeline is out, and while Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo are in agreement on who goes in the first two picks, they split on who the Texas Rangers will take at #3.
Callis and Mayo both have Druw Jones going #1 to the Baltimore Orioles, though they both say that there are five numbers supposedly in play, and no one will really know who Baltimore is going to take until right before the Orioles make the pick.
They also have Jackson Holliday going to Arizona at #2, though they agree that the D-Backs will absolutely take Jones if Baltimore passes on him.
With Jones and Holliday — either of whom, the consensus seems to be, the Rangers would be thrilled to take if they are there — Callis has Elijah Green going to the Rangers, while Mayo has Kevin Parada. Both say Green, Parada and Brooks Lee are options here, and Callis also mentions Termarr Johnson, though there has been little buzz linking him to the Rangers thusfar.
What is interesting about the possibility of Green is that, if he is still on the board after #3, they suggest he will drop a fair amount — Mayo has Green going at #9 to the Kansas City Royals, but they mention he could fall all the way to the San Diego Padres at #15. We have talked about the Rangers possibly going Parada or Lee in order to do an underslot deal and have more money to spend in later rounds, but if Green isn’t going to go off the board for a half-dozen picks or more after Texas selects, he may be able to be inked to a lower bonus than the two college bats in play.