Four mock drafts have been updated today, with Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, Jonathan Mayo, and Keith Law all weighing in for the final time. There has only been one trend in each mock draft: the top seven players will all be gone before the Pirates pick. Mark Appel, Byron Buxton, Kevin Gausman, Mike Zunino, Carlos Correa, Kyle Zimmer, and Albert Almora have been off the board in each mock draft when the Pirates pick eighth.
Jim Callis of Baseball America had David Dahl going to the Pirates with the eighth pick. After originally picking Deven Marrero, Keith Law now agrees that Dahl will be the pick. Kevin Goldstein feels that Mike Zunino could fall to the Pirates, while Jonathan Mayo has Max Fried as the pick.
It seems that there is one general agreement here. If one of Mike Zunino or Albert Almora fall to the Pirates, the Pirates will take that player. That hasn’t happened in any of the mock drafts, with the exception of Goldstein’s, but that’s not to say it can’t happen tonight. After that, it looks like David Dahl has moved up as the top candidate to be taken tonight.
Dahl is a left-handed hitting center fielder with plus speed, a plus arm, and good power potential. He profiles similar to Almora, although Almora is a better bet for power, and has the edge with his work ethic and instincts. Dahl has drawn comparisons to Andy Van Slyke.
