Jim Callis just posted his second mock draft at Baseball America today, and both of the Pirates' first-round picks have changed from the 1.0 edition. Callis had the Pirates' taking Colin Moran and Sean Manaea in his first mock, but now he's got Moran coming off of the board before the Pirates pick at #9 (gone to the Indians at #5) and Manaea dropping all the way down to the end of the first round due to concerns with his arm.
Instead, Callis has the Pirates taking Reese McGuire at number nine. McGuire's a high school catcher from Washington (the state), though it's possible that the Marlins will take McGuire ahead of the Pirates. McGuire has a strong defensive profile and it seems like a lot of people like his left-handed bat for the power potential. At #14, Callis has the Bucs taking DJ Peterson. Peterson's a corner infielder for New Mexico that's emerged as one of the better college hitters this year. I've seen his name connected to the Pirates a LOT in these last few weeks, though he could also generate interest among the teams picking ahead of the Pirates, according to Callis. Hunter Renfroe. He says that the Pirates pretty clearly like DJ Peterson (and the Bucs have been connected to Peterson all over the place and could take him at #9 if McGuire is gone) but there's plenty of interest in Peterson and he may not last to 14, in which case the Pirates would take the next best college hitter, and that would be Renfroe.
*Edited to make up for my lack of reading comprehension.
Anyway, go read the whole thing; it doesn't just lay out pick predictions, but it discusses team mindsets and contingency plans and all sorts of good stuff like that, which is pretty invaluable information when it comes to something as unpredictable as the MLB draft.
