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With the draft approaching faster than a Riley Pint fastball, ESPN's Keith Law has published an updated mock draft. Based on accounts from sources, scouts, and Law himself -- a skilled judge of prospect talent -- the former Toronto Blue Jays' employee has made a couple considerable shuffles.
Most notably, Law has dropped Mickey Moniak down to 12th overall to the Boston Red Sox. In his third iteration of the mock draft, Law had Moniak at fourth to the Colorado Rockies.
According to Law, the Rockies are still interested in Moniak, but may instead opt for one of the available pitchers. The upper tier of pitchers in this year's draft seem better than almost any draft in recent memory, and Law has the Rockies opting for Pint -- who jumps to fourth overall from ninth -- while also possible leaning toward Jason Groome or Dakota Hudson.
If Moniak were to indeed slip to 12th, it might represent the biggest steal of the entire draft. The 18-year old outfielder from San Diego is ranked as the eighth-best prospect on the board by Baseball America, and a recent mock draft from them had him going first off of the board.
Arguably no position player's stock has risen so substantially in the weeks leading up to the draft. He is considered a near-lock to go off the board in the first ten picks. You can read more about Moniak here.
On the other side of things, Law's biggest riser seems to be Corey Ray who jumps from 11th to fifth overall. The 21-year old outfielder out of Louisville seems to be a substantial five-tool threat and could represent one of the best rounded athletes on the board.
Instead of falling to the Seattle Mariners at 11th overall, Law thinks Ray won't make it beyond the Milwaukee Brewers at fifth. Brewers brass is said to be targeting high-ceiling, toolsy guys. While Ray doesn't necessarily profile as the guy with the highest ceiling, he's certainly toolsy.
While the top three remained the same, other substantial movers included a falling Delvin Perez, who went from fifth to 13th. The 17-year old Puerto Rican shortstop was slated by Law to go to the Brewers. While Law admits Perez is still an option for the Brewers, as stated previously, they reportedly favor Ray.
Instead, Perez could slip to the Tampa Bay Rays. Perez's stock seems to be slipping at the moment, but the fact he is the best shortstop on the board could prevent him from slipping quite this low.