MLB Pipeline's latest mock draft is quite fun
Mock Draft Szn Rolls On
Written by: Nick Stevens
Armed with a large bonus pool and five picks within just the first 69 selections this year, the Baltimore Orioles will have an opportunity to make a lot of noise in this year’s draft and the directions they can go are seemingly endless.
While this year’s class may not be as top heavy as some recent classes, it’s deep with quality talent that the Orioles will have a chance to soak up with their multiple early picks.
I’ve put out two five-round mock draft podcast episodes using the Prospects Live Mock Draft Simulator tool which you can listen to here (May 22nd episode) and here (June 21st episode). It hasn’t mattered which direction I’ve taken to start both of these mocks, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the final result after being able to add multiple high-ceiling bats that help fill weaker spots in the system, while also landing multiple rising pitchers with MLB rotation upside.
But I particularly enjoyed MLB Pipeline’s recent mock draft, published here.
19) Arkansas SS Wehiwa Aloy
30) Oregon OF Mason Neville
31) Louisville RHP Patrick Forbes
One thing we have discussed on the main podcast feed is the lack of infield bats in the upper levels of the minor leagues. Now, it’s important to remember this organization just recently graduated Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Jackson Holliday, and Coby Mayo. Not a bad group, huh? The next wave of infield talent is just starting to trickle into Delmarva (Joshua Liranzo/Luis Almeyda) or is still working their way through the FCL/DSL (DJ Layton, Elvin Garcia, Emilio Sanchez, Jemone Nuel, Jose Pena, etc).
The Griff O’Ferrall pick last year was likely supposed to be someone to help fill that gap, very little ceiling but a high floor who could end his first year in Double-A maybe even Triple-A with a good year. But outside of a strong defensive showing, O’Ferrall’s bat has failed to live up to even modest expectations so far. His current results don’t match what they should when you look a little deeper, but still.
Wehiwa Aloy has been connected to the Orioles in multiple mock drafts, with Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo recently noting in a draft chat that Aloy will very likely go within the 15-25 range. Being able to add this year’s Golden Spikes Award winner at pick 19 sounds good to me.
Aloy had a strong freshman season at Sacramento State, transferred to Arkansas and matched his home run total of 14, but had just an 85 wRC+ after moving into the SEC. He went out to the Cape Cod League that summer and shined, hitting 8 home runs in 21 games with a .994 OPS.
He parlayed that strong summer into a Golden Spikes winning season in 2025, hitting 21 home runs with 42 total extra-base hits and an 1.107 OPS.
Aloy’s bat speed and raw strength make him an imposing, up the middle power prospect, but one aspect of his game that may cause him to fall within this range is his chase and potential vulnerabilities in his hit tool. There aren’t any screaming red flags like we’ve seen with other top draft picks taken by the Orioles in recent drafts, but enough to potentially knock him down just a bit in the first round.
At the end of the day, Aloy has showcased a high level of success both in the Cape and in the SEC, he’s going to stick on the left side of the infield, and the power is going to shine. Continued refinements against breaking balls and cleaning up the chase rate will also give him at least an average hit tool in the big leagues. Combine that with his power and defense and you have quite the prospect you were able to land in the back half of the first round.
Baltimore’s outfield depth in the system is in a better place than the infield but you can always take an outfielder at any point and it will make sense. Enter Mason Neville, who has drawn comparisons to current Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser.
The 21-year-old LHH popped 16 home runs last year, but ran high chase rates, whiff rates north of 50% against more than one secondary offering, and an overall strikeout rate of 33.5%. This year, the swing decisions have improved drastically, his strikeout dropped to 23.6%, he went from a .268 to a .290 average, and 24 total extra-base hits to 42 total extra-base hits, including an NCAA-leading 26 home runs.
There were still issues with swing and miss against breaking balls, but contact against those offerings, overall contact rate, and his in-zone contact rate all notably increased while posting a max EV of 113/114 mph (I’ve seen both in different spots). His overall contact rate jump from 67% to 76% was the 8th biggest jump in the country among college hitters this season.
Zooming out a bit, I think the comps to Cowser are pretty good. Athletic centerfielder who probably ends up in a corner but could play centerfield at the next level at a comfortable level, big power from the left side with the ability to use all fields, trouble with breaking balls, going to have a healthy amount of strikeouts but will walk a lot.
A little left-on-left power for your viewing pleasure:
He’s been a big riser this year and is a perfect example of the depth in this class within this range. A potential high-impact bat with plus power and ability to stick in centerfield who has shown some of the most improved swing decisions in the country at pick 30? Yeah, sign me up.
Finally, the Patrick Forbes pick. His start just a few weeks ago in the College World Series against Oregon State was an electric performance. Below is a 90 second montage of him dominating in his biggest start of the season.
Forbes started his Louisville career as a two-way player, dropped hitting and stayed in the bullpen in 2024, and transitioned to a full-time starter for the first time this season. In four non-conference starts to begin the year, including one against Texas, Forbes struck out 39 and walked 3 across 21 innings, with a 1.29 ERA. But the ERA and walk rate ballooned while the strikeout rate fell back down to earth once ACC play began, culminating in an outing against NC State where he allowed two runs on one hit in three innings, but he walked seven and didn’t strike out a single batter.
He didn’t pitch for nearly a month after that, eased his way back into form, and closed out the year with a 3.68 ERA and 39 K/11 BB over his final four starts, including that College World Series performance against Oregon State.
On the year, the numbers ended up at a 4.42 ERA (3.09 FIP) across 71 innings, with a 36.7% strikeout rate and a 10.7% walk rate, obviously buoyed by his 7 BB/0 K performance.
Forbes sits in the mid-90, can touch triple digits, and has an explosive 1-2 offering in his fastball and slider, but wasn’t forced to expand his repertoire in college and can struggle to find the strike zone at times. However, the FB/SL are both potential plus pitches and 2025 was his first season as a starter, one that saw him miss a month with an injury, and he still led the Cardinals to a College World Series appearance.
If you’re looking to shoot the moon with a high upside starter with one of these early picks, Forbes certainly presents the highest ceiling and arguably the most untapped potential among the group of arms who figure to be available at pick 30/31. I’m personally fully on team wait for pitching because high upside pitching is much, much easier to land in later rounds than high impact bats, but I’m also not opposed to seeing what this Orioles pitching development can do with a top arm like Forbes.
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