Mike Elias caught the mainstream baseball prospect writers of the world off guard last year when he drafted Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad with the #2 overall pick. Though some pre-draft mock drafts mentioned this as a remote possibility, no one actually stepped up and made a mock that assume that pick.
In a “fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me” kind of way, those writers have been determined not to be caught off guard again this draft season. The possibility of the Orioles once again using an underslot drafting strategy with their top pick is mentioned in just about every mock draft and the O’s have been linked to different players who’d be seen as underslot selections through the process.