Now that the calendar has finally turned to January, Major League Baseball’s draft season is just getting fired up. The college season will be starting soon, with the high school campaign set to follow shortly thereafter.
The 2012 draft crop has nowhere near the elite talent of the 2010 crop (Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and Jameson Taillon), and nowhere near the depth of the 2011 class, but that’s not to say that there isn’t any future MVP or Cy Young talent to be found.
On the contrary. The 2012 class is big on ceiling, with many of its top names (Mark Appel, Byron Buxton, David Dahl, Chris Beck, etc.) still yet to have a truly dominating season. The hope with these players is that the best is still yet to come.
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to set the final draft order until the beginning of the 2012 big league season, seeing as how several big-name free agents have yet to sign, and therefore compensation for their losses has yet to be handed out.
Still, there’s a good chance that with the exception of an awarded compensation pick for Milwaukee for eventually losing Prince Fielder, the first round will look a lot like it does right now.
So, without further ado, let’s delve into the first full first-round mock draft of 2012, complete with video accompaniment, when available.