2015 MLB Mock Draft: Predictions, Prospects Likely to Arrive Fastest in Majors

What the 2015 MLB draft will miss in instant gratification, it will make up for with the satisfaction of watching a player slowly blossom into the best version of himself.

Unlike in the NBA and NFL drafts, it generally takes at least two years before you start to see the biggest names in a draft class hit the major league level. Guys like Carlos Rodon, whom the Chicago White Sox drafted in 2014 and called up in 2015, are the exception.

However, in every class, there is a small handful of prospects who are obviously built for the majors and don't need to spend years in the minors. Looking at this year's crop of stars, the three players below are most likely to fall under that umbrella.

Pick	Team	Player
1	Arizona Diamondbacks	Dansby Swanson, SS, Vanderbilt
2	Houston Astros	Brendan Rodgers, SS, Lake Mary (Fla.) High School
3	Colorado Rockies	Tyler Jay, LHP, Illinois
4	Texas Rangers	Alex Bregman, SS, LSU
5	Houston Astros	Kyle Tucker, OF, Plant (Fla.) High School
6	Minnesota Twins	Dillon Tate, RHP, UC Santa Barbara
7	Boston Red Sox	Daz Cameron, OF, Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy (Ga.)
8	Chicago White Sox	Carson Fulmer, RHP, Vanderbilt
9	Chicago Cubs	Andrew Benintendi, OF, Arkansas
10	Philadelphia Phillies	Kevin Newman, SS, Arizona
11	Cincinnati Reds	Ian Happ, 2B, Cincinnati
12	Miami Marlins	Jon Harris, RHP, Missouri State
13	Tampa Bay Rays	Walker Buehler, RHP, Vanderbilt
14	Atlanta Braves	Tyler Stephenson, C, Kennesaw Mountain (Ga.) High School
15	Milwaukee Brewers	James Kaprielian, RHP, UCLA
16	New York Yankees	Trenton Clark, OF, Richland Hills (Texas) High School
17	Cleveland Indians	Kyle Funkhouser, RHP, Louisville
18	San Francisco Giants	Garrett Whitley, OF, Niskayuna (N.Y.) High School
19	Pittsburgh Pirates	Cornelius Randolph, 3B, Griffin (Ga.) High School
20	Oakland Athletics	Phil Bickford, RHP, College of Southern Nevada
21	Kansas City Royals	Nate Kirby, LHP, Virginia
22	Detroit Tigers	Donny Everett, RHP, Clarksville (Tenn.) High School
23	St. Louis Cardinals	Kolby Allard, LHP, San Clemente (Calif.) High School
24	Los Angeles Dodgers	Mike Matuella, RHP, Duke
25	Baltimore Orioles	D.J. Stewart, OF, Florida State
26	Los Angeles Angels	Donnie Dewees, OF, North Florida

Prospects Who Could Arrive in MLB First

1. Arizona Diamondbacks: Dansby Swanson, SS, Vanderbilt

Peter Aiken/Getty Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks spent a second-round pick on Nick Ahmed in 2011, but that shouldn't prevent them from targeting one of the best shortstops in this year's draft class: Dansby Swanson, Alex Bregman or Brendan Rodgers.

Swanson and Rodgers are the two best options, and Arizona will have to decide if it wants a younger player who will likely need more time to grow (Rodgers, 18) or a more MLB-ready prospect (Swanson, 21).

The ceiling between the two players isn't radically different, so it would be smarter to go with Swanson since he offers a little less risk.

The No. 1 pick hasn't exactly been fertile ground when it comes to guys quickly making the jump to the big leagues. Here's a look at the top overall selections dating back to 2010, courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com:

Year	Team	Player	MLB Debut	2015 Level
2010	Washington Nationals	Bryce Harper, OF	4/28/2012	MLB (Nationals)
2011	Pittsburgh Pirates	Gerrit Cole, RHP	6/11/2013	MLB (Pirates)
2012	Houston Astros	Carlos Correa, SS	N/A	AAA (Fresno Grizzlies)
2013	Houston Astros	Mark Appel, RHP	N/A	AA (Corpus Christi Hooks)
2014	Houston Astros	Brady Aiken, LHP	N/A	Unsigned

Bryce Harper and Gerrit Cole both hit the majors after a full season in the minors, which is about the most realistic development pattern for Swanson.

The Commodores star is batting .348 with 14 home runs and 61 runs batted in. He's also slugging .656 with a .443 on-base percentage. Swanson wrapped up the SEC tournament on an absolute offensive tear, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Swanson has all the tools to succeed in the major leagues between his bat, glove and athleticism. He shouldn't need much time to acclimate to professional pitching, so his stay in the minor leagues should be brief.

4. Texas Rangers: Alex Bregman, SS, LSU

Gerald Herbert/Associated Press

Offensively, Alex Bregman doesn't exactly wow you. He's batting .318 with nine home runs and 47 runs batted in, which are solid, if unspectacular, numbers. The fact that he walked 36 times and struck out 20 times in 239 at-bats is worth mentioning, though.

What will make Bregman among the first players selected is the totality of his skill set. He should be a good hitter for average in the majors to go along with potentially above-average speed (35-for-45 on stolen base attempts) and a slick glove, as evidenced by these SEC Network tweets:

The presence of Elvis Andrus shouldn't hinder Bregman's development all that much since the Texas Rangers could likely move Bregman over to second if they selected him in the first round. Plus, injuries happen, and Texas showed with its aggressive promotion of Joey Gallo that it isn't afraid to give its top prospects a look in the majors if a starter goes down.

Either way, Bregman, arguably the best player in college baseball, is pretty close to the finished product. He won't need much seasoning in the minors.

10. Philadelphia Phillies: Kevin Newman, SS, Arizona

In his most recent mock draft, ESPN Insider Keith Law reported that the Philadelphia Phillies might be leaning toward a player with little turnaround time with regard to the draft and his MLB debut. If that is indeed the idea, then the Phillies would be smart to target a player like Kevin Newman.

Newman's offensive profile is somewhat known by now. He is a good hitter for average. The Arizona Wildcats star led the Cape Cod Baseball League in batting in 2013 (.375) and 2014 (.380). But he has just two home runs to his name to date during his college career.

The fact that Newman is so highly regarded despite his lack of power speaks to how good the rest of his tools are. Law also hypothesized that closing up Newman's stance a bit may help to improve his numbers.

The Atlanta Braves called up Andrelton Simmons in 2012 after drafting him in 2010 despite his poor offensive numbers in the minors.

It would be unfair to expect Newman to be the next Simmons, but like the Braves shortstop, his impressive glove could help him move through his development in relatively short order.