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But that's like saying "I like 50-caliber machine guns better than bazookas when destroying the enemy position."
I think Bauer is quicker to the bigs than almost anyone, is a thinking pitcher, and should have several years of phenomenal performance.
Bauer will also get out of whack with his delivery at some point, IMO, and is gonna have to climb back on his horse - but he throws a dozen or whatever pitches and is always tinkering.  He knows how to do that.
I've never been as high on Cole as some other people, but I still think he's a legit #2, and for us he only needs to be a #3.
Bauer's college workload is scaring scouts, since he just throws inning after inning and has high (for college) pitch counts.
I remember that being a problem with Lincecum too.
Bauer's for real, in my estimation.  I would not complain at all if we drafted him with Rendon gone.  I would complain some if we drafted him with Rendon there...but he has a chance to be really special.
So does Cole.  But I like Bauer to be special NOW, and now is an important time-frame for a team trying to get a championship out of Felix Hernandez.
Cole is built like a front-line pitcher.  Bauer is built like a 7th inning specialist.  To scouts, that still means a lot.
But as you say, maybe passing on Lincecum for frame concerns made an impression on the Mariners and they'd do it differently if given the same choice again.
Whomever Zduriencik takes I'll have some faith in, simply because he's never really missed in the first round.  The one year he did, he backed it up with a second rounder that produced like a first-rounder in the bigs.
But my wishlist would go Rendon, then Bauer, then Cole.  If Jack's is different, then I trust him.
But I'd be curious to see if it is.
~G