The Washington Nationals have been long rumored to end up with outfielder Bubba Starling with the sixth pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, set to begin on Monday night. But with only a few hours to go before the actual picks are announced, a new name has surfaced in a prominent MLB Mock Draft. Jim Callis' final mock draft for Baseball America has the Nationals passing on Starling taking local pitcher Danny Hultzen at No. 6.
Hultzen is one of the premier pitching prospects in the draft. The Bethesda native starred for top-ranked Virginia this season, and is certainly more ready to advance to the majors quicker than Starling. But pitching prospects are also notoriously unreliable at the top of the draft, and despite Starling's price tag, he might be a safer option.
As for the No. 23 pick, Callis has the Nationals picking Alex Meyer, a right-handed pitcher from Kentucky.