Draft Notes: Astros, Nola, White Sox, Orioles

As we approach the draft next week, MLB.com’s draft database now features profiles of 200 prospects. Here are a few notes on the draft.

• The Astros take high school pitcher Brady Aiken with the top pick in Jonathan Mayo’s latest mock draft for MLB.com. High school C/OF Alex Jackson heads to the Marlins at No. 2 and NC State lefty Carlos Rodon goes to the White Sox at No. 3 in what’s becoming a fairly standard (but by no means unanimous) projection for the top of the draft.
• The White Sox take high school pitcher Tyler Kolek in John Manuel’s new mock for Baseball America, leaving Rodon to fall to the Cubs at No. 4.
• LSU righty Aaron Nola heads to the Cubs in Kiley McDaniel’s mock for Scout.com, with Jackson dropping all the way to the Mariners at No. 6. McDaniel also writes that the Astros aren’t yet sure who they’ll take at No. 1, although he, like most other experts, projects they’ll take Aiken.
• The White Sox will take the best player available at No. 3 no matter who his agent is or whether he’s a high school or college player, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin writes (all Twitter links). That player will likely be a pitcher, Merkin reports.
• One team that won’t have any tough decisions in the first round is the Orioles, as MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski notes. The Orioles gave up their first three picks in the draft so that they could acquire Ubaldo Jimenez, Bud Norris and Nelson Cruz, and now their first overall pick doesn’t come until the third round. That means the Orioles have a bonus pool of just $2.2MM, so their flexibility will be limited.
• The Nationals, who pick at No. 18,have been connected to UNLV pitcher Erick Fedde, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post tweets. Fedde was once projected as a top-ten pick, but he recently had Tommy John surgery.