2023 MLB mock draft: Kiley McDaniel predicts first two rounds - ESPN

The 2023 MLB draft starts Sunday, so let's project how all 70 Day 1 picks could play out this weekend in Seattle with my Mock Draft 3.0.

The intrigue starts right at the top this year, as the Pittsburgh Pirates have a difficult decision to make with the No. 1 overall pick in a draft featuring three of the top prospects in recent memory. What will the Pirates do — and how will the Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers follow with the No. 2 and No. 3 picks?

This is my next-to-last mock draft of the 2023 draft cycle, with an updated 3.1 version coming hours before Round 1 begins on Sunday. And remember, this is the order in which I think the picks will come off the board, while my rankings (linked below) are the order in which I'd pick the players.

Draft coverage: Mock Draft 2.0 | Top 300 | Guide for all 30 teams

Watch MLB draft: Sunday, July 9 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN

Paul Skenes, RHP, LSU

The indication has been made to the teams at the top of the draft that LSU CF Dylan Crews wants more than the top slot in the draft, which is $9.721 million. Whether this number has been said out loud or implied, or this is merely shorthand for «over slot,» multiple teams picking at the top have said to me this week that Crews wants $10 million. I alluded to this in the previous mock draft being a logical move for Crews.

The previous highest bonus in this era of draft bonus rules is $8.42 million by Spencer Torkelson in 2020, but in the first year under a new CBA with higher slots, two picks have suggested slots higher than that, while the third pick's slot is just below it, at $8.341 million. Multiple bonus records are likely to be set this year, and Crews seems to be focused on being at the top of that heap.

Now this could be