I think we need to go with Chase Dollander, RHP, Tennessee.
"While there's some debate about the top position player in the college class, Dollander is clearly the best pitcher. In his first season at Tennessee after transferring from Georgia Southern, he captured SEC pitcher of the year honors by going 10-0 with a 2.39 ERA and a 108/13 K/BB ratio in 79 innings. He throws strikes with four pitches, the best of which are a mid-90s fastball that reaches 99 mph with carry and a mid-80s slider that touches 91"
https://www.mlb.com/news/top-college-prospects-for-2023-mlb-draft
We have plenty of OF prospects but zero pitchers.
Out top 3 prospects are outfielders. Robert Hassell, Elijah Green and James Wood.
Best player available. That's not to say Dollander's not good - he is - but it is a near-certainty that at least one of the three above will never be a significant contributor at the major league level. There is always room for more bats. There is always also room for more arms.
In the MLB draft, you're not picking a dude who's going to be on your team next week. It's more like 3 years if you're pretty lucky. You only get one first-round pick. That guy gets tossed into the shuffle of your minor league system with every other guy you draft, plus the guys you sign internationally (and if you need more arms to counterbalance your high draft picks, you can do it there), plus the prior year's picks and signings, plus eventually the signings from the next year and so on. Some dudes get hurt, others rise quickly, others never rise at all.
When you're drafting, you have no idea what that process will look like over the 3 year horizon or so until you can expect a first-round pick to be near the horizon. Maybe Cade Cavalli will have turned into Mike Mussina; maybe he'll be pitching for the Long Island Ducks. Maybe you'll have had an astounding 80-win season and Rizzo will have traded Hassell for someone who hit .240 for the Diamondbacks 12 years ago in hopes of winning 82 games. Maybe the current trend will continue and MLB rosters will have 35 players, 24 of whom will be relief pitchers.
Due to this unpredictability, draft the best player available. (But if you think that player is a high school lefty, allow someone else to make the pick, because the best player available is not a high school left-handed pitcher.)
