2018 MLB Draft: Mock Drafts from MLB Pipeline have Texas Rangers going high school player

2018 MLB Draft: Final mock drafts for this evening’s first round of the MLB draft are going up, and MLB Pipeline has the final versions of the mock drafts from both Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo. Both Callis and Mayo have the Rangers going with a toolsy high school outfielder from the Southeast with their pick at #15, but they differ as to who that toolsy high school outfielder will be.

Callis has the Rangers selecting Jordyn Adams, the two-sport son of a University of North Carolina football coach who is seen as one of the highest-ceiling players in the draft. That dovetails with Keith Law’s mock draft from earlier this morning — Law also has the Rangers going with Adams.

Mayo, on the other hand, has the Rangers going with Tampa high school outfielder Connor Scott. We wrote up Scott a couple of weeks ago, noting that he’s athletic, has speed but may not be able to stick in center field, and has mixed projections on his hit tool.

Interestingly, Mayo also mentions the possibility of Parker Meadows and Xavier Edwards at #15 — neither player has been prominently linked to Texas up to this point, but they are mentioned as possible below-slot picks who would presumably allow the Rangers to get a tougher sign, such as Georgia high school pitcher Ethan Hankins, in the second round.

UPDATE — In their final update, both Mayo and Callis have the Rangers taking third baseman Nolan Gorman, a high schooler from Phoenix generally thought to be off the board when Texas picked up until this afternoon.