Perfect MLB Draft Fits for the NL Central

Pittsburgh Pirates: Pick #6

Mock Pick: Billy Carlson, SS

Why It Makes Sense

After putting together one of the best young rotations in baseball, the Pirates are now searching for some offensive support. Who better to fill this role than Billy Carlson?

Offensively, Carlson’s steep right-handed swing allows him to elevate the baseball for more power, without sacrificing line drives in the process. He stays direct to the baseball, driving it with force regularly. This is something Konnor Griffin shared last year, which has worked out well for the Pirates.

In the field, he grades out as one of the best defenders in the class, with scouts often giving him a 70-grade glove. His arm grades out well, which could be thanks to his time on the mound, where he’s dialed his fastball up to 97 MPH.

Overall, he seems like one of the more sound prep players in this year’s draft. Given the Pirates’ need for more dynamic offensive players, Carlson seems like a perfect fit.

Other Potential Fits

As for the Pittsburgh Pirates, they arguably have the clearest need of any team in this year’s draft: offense. The Pirates haven’t just been focused on pitching over the last few seasons, but they’ve nearly only selected pitchers in the last few drafts.

LaViolette has some of the best tools in the entire draft, as his approach at the plate is reminiscent of other top college players in past seasons. His power is electric, giving him the ability to regularly blast balls over the wall extremely far.

The one main question scouts have regarding his play is that the hit tool is far from elite, as it really needs some work when he enters professional baseball. However, it could still be profiled as a 50-55 grade in the near future.

This isn’t to discredit LaViolette by any means, though, as he’s still one of the more talented hitters in college baseball. This season, he’s hit 17 homers and slashed .259/.432/.577 with a 119 wRC+ in 53 games. While this is a step back from last season, he’s still very good.

Due to this pitching-heavy way of drafting, the Pirates have nearly no offensive talent coming to help them in the next few seasons, outside of Griffin and Termarr Johnson. 

The Pirates need to find impactful hitters this year and players who could reach the big leagues as fast as possible. To me, the perfect answer for them is Jace LaViolette.

St. Louis Cardinals: Pick #5

Mock Pick: Eli Willits, SS

Why It Makes Sense

Similarly to Carlson, Eli Willits is one of the better, more underrated prep-level hitters in this year’s MLB Draft. The Cardinals appear to be searching for some offensive help on the high-school side, which makes Willits a perfect fit.

Offensively, Willits profiles better than nearly every other prep prospect in this year’s draft. He has the potential to be a true switch hitter throughout his whole career, something that’s rarer among prep prospects. His power isn’t on the same level as someone like Ethan Holliday, but it’ll certainly play at the next level.

Defensively, Willits is super athletic, giving scouts confidence he can stay at shortstop moving forward. He’s got pretty good range, which should help him field balls deeper in the gaps at shortstop.

If the Cardinals are looking for some offensive help on the high school side like we think they are, Willits is the perfect fit for the Cardinals. He could become the best player in this entire draft with some time in the minors.

Other Potential Fits

As I touched on in the introduction, the talent in this year’s MLB Draft is weaker than in past seasons. However, there are plenty of extremely talented pitchers up for grabs in the early part of this year’s draft. The second-best of these pitchers, Seth Hernandez, makes a ton of sense for the St. Louis Cardinals at pick number five overall.

Hernandez has been seen dialing up his fastball into the triple-digits since he was 18, giving him one of the more electric four-seamers in this entire draft. Granted, Hernandez will likely sit in the high-90s; this ability to already touch triple-digits will make him very attractive to teams in July.

His arsenal also features an elite changeup, which is one of the best in this year’s draft. It gets a ton of whiffs and does a good job at keeping hitters off-balance. He throws a pretty good curveball, which has been one of his go-to pitches when ahead in the count.

While he uses it less than the rest of his arsenal, his slider will be a pitch to monitor when he enters professional baseball. If he continues to develop it once he’s drafted, he could very easily put together an elite, four-pitch mix.

The Cardinals do have pitching help on the way in Quinn Mathews and Tink Hence. Both pitchers are in Triple-A, and they project to be front-line pieces for this team. However, both lack true ace-upside, something that Hernandez possesses.

Given their need for a pitcher with clear ace potential, I think Seth Hernandez would be a great fit for the Cardinals. Seeing how they developed Mathews makes me incredibly hopeful that they can maximize Hernandez’s talents as well.

Cincinnati Reds: Pick #9

Mock Pick: Jace LaViolette, OF, Texas A&M

Why It Makes Sense

This season, LaViolette has slipped a little on draft boards, with most people in the industry projecting him around the bottom of the top 10. This is perfect, as it allows one of the best power-hitters in this class to play in one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in the sport.

Since I dove deeper into LaViolette in the Pirates section, let’s focus a little more on why this matchup is so perfect in Cincinnati.

Not only is LaViolette a legit 65-grade potential power threat playing in Great American Ballpark, but he’s also valuable due to his position. The Reds have struggled to put together a competent outfield in recent years, and LaViolette could be a big part of resolving this.

LaViolette has a good enough glove to stick at the position as well, making him a very valuable player for the Reds, and also a perfect fit.

Other Potential Fits

Outside of Elly De La Cruz and a few others, the Reds have struggled to develop high-end offensive talent. Their team wRC+ of 94 ranks 22nd in baseball, showing the key need for more help on offense.

Our number nine draft prospect, Gavin Kilen, seems like the perfect candidate to help this offense succeed. Kilen, a member of the loaded Tennessee Vols, could stand in and help this team within the next few seasons.

Kilen possesses some of the best pure-hitting abilities in the class, as he regularly makes contact on everything. No matter what pitch or location, Kilen is able to get the bat to the ball consistently, making him incredibly valuable to the Reds.

He’s stayed patient and seen improvements in his power this season at Tennessee. Even though his power may grade out more towards average, the run environment in Great American Ballpark could help this reach new heights.

He could also reach the majors faster than most players in this class, meaning the Reds could add him to the lineup as soon as the next few seasons. If so, this pairing could be dangerous and one of the better matches in the draft.

Chicago Cubs: Pick #17

Mock Pick: Wehiwa Aloy, SS, Arkansas

Why It Makes Sense

Through the last four seasons, the Chicago Cubs have drafted college prospects with their first picks in the draft. This season, this doesn’t appear to be changing, as Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy seems like the best fit.

Offensively, Aloy’s power is what carries his game. He’s hit 18 homers in 55 games this year for the Razorbacks, which really shows his power. He does this without sacrificing anything offensively, as he’s only struck out 19.9% of the time with a .440 OBP this season.

Defensively, Aloy should grade out with above-average tools at shortstop. Not all scouts believe Aloy will stick at shortstop, as some see a future third baseman. He may make the shift, which makes this pairing even more perfect given the Cubs developed two other first-rounders at the hot corner in Cam Smith and Matt Shaw.

Overall, this pairing feels really perfect, as Aloy could make it to the Major Leagues within the next few seasons.

Other Potential Fits

Due to the sheer density of pitching talent in this year’s draft, the Chicago Cubs find themselves in a unique position. Even though they pick 17th overall, the Cubs could still land one of the better arms in the class, Tyler Bremner.

Bremner entered this season as arguably the best pitcher in the draft, battling Seth Hernandez for the top spot. Since the college season began, though, Bremner has slipped down draft boards, with his inconsistent start causing scouts to worry. This all took place while arms like Liam Doyle and Kade Anderson shot up draft boards due to their successes.

His fastball has been seen in the upper 90s, making it an effective pitch. He’s struggled to throw it consistently this year, though, which is one of the key reasons he’s fallen on draft boards. If he can regain its shape, he’ll be in a much better position to succeed.

I mentioned earlier that Hernandez’s changeup was arguably the best in the class, and this is only due to the amazing changeup Tyler Bremner boasts. He commands it well, and it’s a great pitch to throw hitters off-balance.

He also mixes in a very good slider, which has recently improved more and more. Due to its dominance being relatively new, teams will rely more on projections as to its effectiveness.

There’s a legitimate shot that Bremner won’t make it to the Cubs in this year’s draft, but if he does, this pairing is a match made in heaven. If he’s off the board by their pick, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them take a shot on a different arm.

Milwaukee Brewers: Pick #20

Mock Pick: Riley Quick, SP, Alabama

Why It Makes Sense

The Milwaukee Brewers have quietly built one of the best farm systems in the sport over the last few seasons. However, most of their farm is full of offensive talent, making it harder to find the pitching help they need.

The only pitching prospect on the way to help the Brewers on that side of the baseball is RHP Jacob Misiorowski. Due to this, I think it makes a lot of sense for the Brewers to select the best pitcher available at pick number 20, which we believe will be Riley Quick.

In fact, Quick ranks number 20 overall on our top 200 prospects, showing just how perfect this pairing appears to be. He’s been on a pitch count due to an elbow injury last season, but he’s still been one of the best college pitchers in the country this season.

Similarly to all the other arms I’ve discussed so far, Quick throws an electric fastball. It’s often seen in the high-90s on the radar gun, with a lot of run. This sinker has been one of the tougher fastballs to hit in this year’s draft.

His changeup plays off of his fastball very well, as the pitch does a fantastic job creating deception. He also mixes in a slider, which can be devastating when he commands the pitch to the best of its ability.

For the Brewers, being able to secure an arm of this caliber would be key for supporting the loaded offensive core they currently have in the minors.

Other Potential Fits

When looking at some potential names on the board for the Brewers at pick number 20 overall, they should have a solid crop of names to choose from. If they elect to go with another offensive piece in the first round, outfielder Brendan Summerhill feels like a perfect fit.

Although he’s flown pretty under the radar during early mock drafts, Summerhill has one of the best offensive skill sets in the entire class. His contact skills are among some of the best in the class, as he was slashing .390/.500/.642 before an injury sidelined him for a decent amount of time.

His power still has a little ways to go yet, as he had only homered three times in 30 games before his injury. However, it could really take off, as he regularly finds barrels at the plate.

He’ll be fairly good in the outfield, but will likely land in a corner once he enters professional baseball. With an aging Christian Yelich currently playing in an otherwise great defensive Brewers outfield, Summerhill eventually standing in for Yelich could make for a great fit.