Patrick Bailey highlights NC State's baseball draft prospects

On Wednesday, MLB will begin an unusual five-round draft. Typically it is 40 rounds long, but one of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic shortened-sports calendar is a scaled-down version in 2020.

Nevertheless, several NC State baseball players are expected to be picked, with catcher Patrick Bailey certain to be a first-round choice.

Here is a rundown of what Wolfpack baseball players to watch for Wednesday (first round/competitive balance round) and Thursday (rounds two through five).

Bailey burst onto the scene when he hit .321 with 13 homers as a freshman. After hitting 10 home runs as a sophomore, he was well on his way to another double-digit year with six (including two grand slams) before the season was canceled after 17 games. He is a career .302 batter for the Wolfpack.

Keith Law of The Athletic has Bailey ranked as the No. 17 overall prospect In the draft.

“Bailey was seen as a defense-first catcher who might have a chance to hit,” Law wrote. “Three years with the Wolfpack have flipped that on its head, as now Bailey is seen as a bat-first catcher who’s good enough to stay at the position but not more than that on defense. He’s a switch-hitting catcher with enough power to profile as an asset to any lineup for that position.”

In his most recent mock draft, Law had the Los Angeles Angles with the 10th overall pick taking Bailey.

Mike Axisa of CBSSports.com has Bailey going one pick later at No. 11 to the Chicago White Sox. That site’s MLB Draft analyst R.J. Anderson has Bailey as the No. 13 player on his big board.

Ironically, Anderson has a different view of Bailey than Law.

“He's more than adequate at the defensive tasks that matter most -- receiving and throwing -- and he has ample game-calling experience,” Anderson wrote. "Scouts are less bullish on his bat.”

MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis both agree with Axisa, each predicting Bailey to the White Sox. MLB.com ranks Bailey as the No. 17 player overall on the board.

"Bailey is a switch-hitter whose strength gives him solid raw power from both sides of the plate. His pop stands out more than his hitting ability, though he makes consistent contact and draws a healthy amount of walks,” MLB.com wrote.

Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs also has Bailey going to the White Sox. So does Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com, although McDaniel notes that there is a 20 percent chance that Bailey could go as high as No. 7 to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Athletic's Law is bullish on Swiney, placing him at No. 22 in his latest big board. That comes after Swiney’s scintillating four starts this year, in which he allowed only 13 hits and six walks while surrendering four earned runs in 28.0 innings and striking out 42 batters.

“Swiney looked like a back-end starter who might go in the second or third round before this spring, but was 90-95 mph in the early going with a 60 [grade] curveball and started getting some late first-round consideration as the Wolfpack’s Saturday starter,” Law wrote.

MLB.com has Swiney at No. 78, which would put him in contention to be a potential second round pick. They called Swiney the best NC State pitching prospect since Carlos Rodon was picked by the White Sox at No. 3 overall in the 2014 draft.

"Working out of the rotation, Swiney showed an 87-93 mph fastball with modest life and an average to plus curveball,” it wrote. “As a reliever in the past, he sat in the low 90s and topped out at 95 with his heater and backed it up with a wipeout curve. His changeup was a revelation this spring, showing signs of becoming a plus offering with deceptive fade.”

McDonough is a wild card for NC State in this draft. The productive sophomore (.327 career batting average with eight homers and 17 stolen bases in 78 games) is age-eligible to be picked, but given that he has two years of eligibility left has tremendous leverage to potentially demand high dollars in a draft where teams may be selective with how they spend their limited spending pools.

MLB.com ranks McDonough as the No. 150 prospect in the draft. It noted that one scout compared him to Adam Eaton, an eight-year MLB veteran who was a starting outfielder on the Washington Nationals' World Series-winning team in 2019.

"A switch-hitter, McDonough makes quality contact and controls the strike zone from both sides of the plate," MLB.com stated. "While his on-base skills stand out more than his power, he can drive the ball on occasion and did so more consistently as a sophomore. He has solid speed and the instincts to make the most of it on the bases."

At this point, Brown is not appearing on mock drafts or top prospect boards, but it is hard to imagine that he is not on the radar of scouts, especially when they have a limited sample size this year.

He was crushing it at the plate before the season was canceled after 17 games. Brown hit .338 with five homers and 19 runs batted in.

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