With the Pittsburgh Pirates reportedly dead-set on taking Gerrit Cole with the first pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, the Seattle Mariners have a choice to make. Do the Mariners take Anthony Rendon, whose upside is tantalizingly good despite injury concerns, or does the team go a different direction and take a pitcher, of which there are plenty? One such arm is high-schooler Dylan Bundy, who may be the best prospect in the draft.
Bundy is a superb pitcher and isn't your typical high school prospect. Right now, he boasts three-and-a-half pitches, including a fastball that sits mid- to high-90s. Despite his age, Bundy is polished, and doesn't seem to come with the concerns many draft-eligible high school pitchers do. And though Gerrit Cole will reportedly be the first pitcher taken on Monday, Bundy should come off the board soon after, and could find himself in the top-5.
While almost every mock draft around has the Mariners selecting Anthony Rendon, if concerns about the Rice third baseman's injuries persist, Seattle has options at No. 2. Over at FanGraphs, Bundy is the No. 4 pick in their latest 2011 MLB mock draft, and is the third pitcher taken.
The best prep draft eligible player in the nation, Bundy is considered an advanced prep arm that could move Rick-Porcello-fast through the minors. The younger brother of Orioles’ Top 10 prospect Bobby Bundy, that organization would love to make it a pair.
Keith Law has the Kansas City Royals taking Bundy with the fifth pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, and calls him a steal at that spot. The buzz lately has been centered around Bundy being the best player in the draft, and Law agrees he could move fast through the minors.
They want a polished pitcher who'll move quickly through their system, and Bundy fits. I've had two evaluators call Bundy the best player in the draft, which would be quite a coup for a team picking fifth.
He's good, and he could be great with a bit of development time in the minors -- though he won't need long. With a good smattering of top-flight prospects, the Mariners have options should Rendon's injury concerns scare them away. But, in all likelihood, Seattle will snatch Rendon up because his talents are far too great to ignore.
We'll be tracking the projections and handing out information about the day's events in our 2011 MLB Draft StoryStream. For a local look at what the Mariners are planning, head over to SB Nation's Lookout Landing.