The 2026 MLB Draft has come and gone. Now, the 2027 MLB Draft class is on the clock. It’s time for SGPN to step up to the plate and deliver a “Way Too Early” 2027 MLB Mock Draft piece. Which team will draft high school superstar Dylan Seward? Where will well-known college contributors like Landon Hairston, Gavin Kelly, and Tague Davis be picked?
My name is Noah Bieniek, I host The College Baseball Experience and follow amateur baseball all year long. This was a super fun exercise for me to gauge the talent for next Spring.
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2027 MLB Mock Draft Way Too Early
The 2027 MLB Draft class’ biggest strength is the supreme depth of star pitchers from college baseball. Dax Whitney is the biggest star in the sky, however after undergoing elbow surgery in May of 2026, he will be sidelined for almost the entire ’27 season. Guys like Tomas Valincius, Dylan Volantis, Aidan King, Ryan McPherson, and Chris Levonas have a chance to make up some ground.
At the top of many big boards, you will see high school superstar Dylan Seward but not many other high school players, especially pitchers. For many reasons that is slowly becoming a trend in the MLB Draft.
College pitching is the strength of the ’27 draft class, but there are many hitters that will get drafted in the first round from a top-heavy crop of college bats. Over the last few days I tasked myself with finding hypothetical homes for Landon Hairston, Gavin Kelly, Brendan Lawson, Adrian Rodriguez, Tague Davis and more.
| Pick | Team | Player | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  White Sox | ROCH CHOLOWSKY | SS | UCLA |
| The White Sox have selected a college hitter with 9 of their last 13 first-round picks. | ||||
| 2 |  Rays | GRADY EMERSON | SS | Forth Worth Christian HS (TX) |
| In their last 15 first-round picks, Tampa Bay has selected 11 hitters (six high school). | ||||
| 3 |  Twins | VAHN LACKEY | C | Georgia Tech |
| Minnesota has selected a hitter with 12 of their 14 first-round picks. Eight of those selections were out of college. The Twins are an organization that drafts position players based off batted ball data. | ||||
| 4 |  Giants | JACKSON FLORA | RHP | UC Santa Barbara |
| San Francisco has selected college players with seven of their last eight first-round picks, five of which have been position players. | ||||
| 5 |  Pirates | ERIC "EJ" BOOTH JR. | OF | Oak Grove HS (MS) |
| Pittsburgh has selected a high school player with all five of their last Top 50 draft picks. | ||||
| 6 |  Royals | JACOB LOMBARD | SS | Gulliver Prep HS (FL) |
| Through three drafts with Kansas City, Scouting Director Brian Bridges has led the charge in taking 7 prep players with their last 12 Top 100 selections. Four of those seven high school players have been pitchers. | ||||
| 7 |  Orioles | TYLER BELL | SS | Kentucky |
| In nine straight MLB Drafts, Baltimore has selected tooled-out hitters with their early picks. | ||||
| 8 |  Athletics | CHRIS HACOPIAN | INF | Texas A&M |
| The Athletics have had 10 Round 1 picks in the last nine years. They’ve selected six college hitters. | ||||
| 9 |  Braves | DREW BURRESS | OF | Georgia Tech |
| Nine of Atlanta’s last 12 first round picks have been pitchers. The value on selecting a college pitcher in the Top 10 isn't very high this year. However, the Braves have another pick in the twenties that will present plenty of college pitchers in a more reasonable range. With Georgia Tech right in Atlanta's backyard, Drew Burress to the Braves has been a popular pick across mock drafts. | ||||
| 10 |  Rockies DEREK CURIEL | OF | LSU |
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| The Rockies have selected six college players with their last seven 1st Round picks. | ||||
| 11 |  Nationals | ZION ROSE | OF | Louisville |
| Washington's front office has plenty of new faces in it. Their last 2 first round picks have been Seaver King in 2024 and Eli Willits in 2025. Two position players with an elite carrying tool. | ||||
| 12 |  Angels | MASON EDWARDS | LHP | USC |
| The Angels have selected seven straight college players with their most recent first-round picks. However, Los Angeles fired Perry Minasian, their GM, and now John Mozeliak has stepped in as the lead supervisor. There is a train of thought that just because Minasian is no longer in the building, doesn’t mean Angels ownership will adjust their philosophy around the MLB Draft. Furthermore, St. Louis selected 6 college pitchers in their last 11 first-round picks under Mozeliak’s leadership. | ||||
| 13 |  Cardinals | RYDER HELFRICK | C | Arkansas |
| This will be the first draft where John Mozeliak is not in the room for the St. Louis Cardinals during the MLB Draft. Zach Mortimer, formerly a national crosschecker for the Cards, was promoted to Director of Amateur Acquisitions. Mortimer will steer the ship along with Randy Flores and Chaim Bloom who have a large say in the final decision as well. With that being said, all three of these guys were in the room in 2025, plus Mortimer and Flores have been affiliated with St. Louis for a while. Cardinals have selected 11 college players with their last 12 picks inside the first four rounds. | ||||
| 14 |  Marlins | JUSTIN LEBRON | SS | Alabama |
| In his first two drafts Miami’s President of Baseball Operations Peter Bendix has led the Marlins in selecting five college players with their eight Top 100 picks. | ||||
| 15 |  Diamondbacks TREVOR CONDON | OF | Etowah HS (GA) |
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| Arizona has selected high school hitters with eight of their last 14 Round 1 picks. | ||||
| 16 |  Rangers | AJ GRACIA | OF | Virginia |
| General Manager Chris Young has had a hand in selecting seven players 21-years old or older with the Rangers’ last eight 1st Round picks, six of the eight were hitters. | ||||
| 17 |  Astros | CADEN SORRELL | OF | Texas A&M |
| Houston has selected a college hitter with 6 of their last 9 picks in the 1st round. | ||||
| 18 |  Reds | CAMERON FLUKEY | RHP | Coastal Carolina |
| Cincinnati has selected three straight college right-handed pitchers with their last four picks in the first round. | ||||
| 19 |  Guardians | JARREN ADVINCULA | INF | Georgia Tech |
| Cleveland has drafted 9 hitters with their last 15 first-round picks. Their front office has a notable affinity for middle infielders. Also, the Guardians have noticeably liked left-handed hitters and elite Cape Cod League performers. | ||||
| 20 |  Red Sox | LIAM PETERSON | RHP | Florida |
| Boston has taken 10 college players with their last 12 picks inside the first four rounds. | ||||
| 21 |  Padres | GIO ROJAS | LHP | Stoneman Douglas HS (FL) |
| San Diego has drafted 13 prepsters with their last 15 first-round picks. Seven of the high schoolers have been pitchers. | ||||
| 22 |  Tigers | TYLER SPANGLER | SS | De La Salle HS (CA) |
| The Tigers have had seven Top 100 picks in the President of Baseball Operations, Scott Harris, era. Harris hails from the Farhan-Zaidi-Giants organization, which valued prep players highly. In result Detroit has drafted six prep players with the seven selections (four left-handed hitters). | ||||
| 23 |  Cubs | AIDEN ROBBINS | OF | Texas |
| The Cubs have selected eight college players in their last nine Top 100 selections. Six of those +21-year-olds have been hitters. Chicago also heavily values Cape Cod League performance. | ||||
| 24 |  Mariners | LOGAN SCHMIDT | SS | Ganesha HS (CA) |
| Seattle has selected a high school player with nine of their last 16 first-round picks. Eight of the prepsters picked were position players. | ||||
| 25 |  Brewers | ACE REESE | 3B | Mississippi State |
| Matt Arnold is the new General Manager of the Brewers. Milwaukee has had four 1st round picks, they’ve selected four left-handed hitters. Two from college and two out of high school. | ||||
| 26 | Braves | TAYLOR RABE | RHP | Ole Miss |
| Nine of the Braves' last 12 first round picks have been pitchers. | ||||
| 27 |  Mets | JARED GRINDLINGER | LHP/OF | Huntington Beach HS (CA) |
| David Stearns is the new General Manager of the Mets. He comes from Milwaukee, where the Brewers had selected four straight college hitters until this year. Stearns and the Mets selected a college hitter with each of their first 4 picks in the 2024 MLB Draft. New York also has a noticeable affinity for two-way players. | ||||
| 28 | Astros | LOGAN HUGHES | OF | Texas Tech |
| The Astros have selected a college hitter with 6 of their last 9 picks in the 1st round. | ||||
| 29 | Giants | TEGAN KUHNS | RHP | Tennessee |
| The Giants have selected college players with seven of their last eight first-round picks, five of which have been position players. | ||||
| 30 | Royals | CARSON BOLEMAN | LHP | Southside Christian HS (SC) |
| Through three drafts with the Royals, Scouting Director Brian Bridges has led the charge in taking 7 prep players with their last 12 Top 100 selections. Four of those seven high school players have been pitchers. | ||||
| 31 | Diamondbacks COLE PROSEK | SS/C | Magnolia Heights HS (MA) |
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| The Diamondbacks have selected high school hitters with eight of their last 14 Round 1 picks. | ||||
| 32 | Cardinals | CADE TOWNSEND | RHP | Ole Miss |
| St. Louis has selected 11 college players with their last 12 picks inside the first four rounds. | ||||
| 33 | Rays | BO LOWRANCE | LHP | Christ Church Episcopal HS (SC) |
| In their last 15 first-round picks, the Rays have selected 11 hitters (six high school). | ||||
| 34 | White Sox | COLE CARLON | LHP | Arizona State |
| The White Sox have selected a college hitter with 9 of their last 13 first-round picks. | ||||
| 35 |  Yankees | JOEY VOLCHKO | RHP | Georgia |
| 12 of the Yankees’ last 14 Top 100 picks have been college players. Seven of those 12 +21-year-olds have been pitchers. | ||||
| 36 |  Phillies | AIDEN RUIZ | SS | The Stony Brook HS (NY) |
| Philadelphia has picked a prep player with six of their last seven first-round selections. | ||||
| 37 | Rockies DANIEL JACKSON | C | Georgia |
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| Colorado has selected six college players with their last seven 1st Round picks. | ||||
| 38 | Rockies HUNTER DIETZ | LHP | Arkansas |
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| The Rockies have selected six college players with their last seven 1st Round picks. | ||||
| 39 |  Blue Jays | LOGAN REDDEMANN | RHP | UCLA |
| Seven of Toronto’s last 11 Round 1 picks have been college players (five pitchers). | ||||
| 40 |  Dodgers | SAWYER STROSNIDER | OF | TCU |
| The Dodgers have used 11 of their last 16 Top 100 picks to select college players. Los Angeles has drafted six college hitters in that sample size. | ||||
2027 MLB Mock Draft Way Too Early
Tune into The College Baseball Experience podcast and show to hear about any more 2027 MLB Draft developments. Stick with Noah Bieniek and TCE throughout the NCAA Baseball offseason for periodical transfer portal and coaching carousel updates as well as any other news along the way.
