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2022 MLB Draft Thread


Harold's Leg Lift
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The Sox avoid prep pitchers in the 1st round but this might be the year to jump in especially if this big bastard is available.  They desperately need an influx of talent so they should be drafting for ceiling. Ferris, Barreira, Schulz, Ford, Ritchie, Dutkanych, Porter. It's a good, deep group of prep arms with very high ceilings. 

 

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42 minutes ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

The Sox avoid prep pitchers in the 1st round but this might be the year to jump in especially if this big bastard is available.  They desperately need an influx of talent so they should be drafting for ceiling. Ferris, Barreira, Schulz, Ford, Ritchie, Dutkanych, Porter. It's a good, deep group of prep arms with very high ceilings. 

 

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BA's weekly stock watch is up. These guys have helium.

- Chance Huff, RHP, Georgia Tech (NR)

- Brandon Sproat, RHP, Florida (NR)

- Justin Campbell, RHP, Oklahoma State (No. 82)

- Gabriel Hughes, RHP, Gonzaga (No. 63)

The following players noted as likely first rounders. Will share the excerpts on them.

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Jackson Holliday, SS, Stillwater (Okla.) HS (No. 32)

Holliday, the son of former big league outfielder Matt Holliday, was an industry favorite selection as a player who could really rise this spring. Last summer he showed more strength than he has in the past and that caused him to swing and miss a bit more than he’s accustomed to, but evaluators loved his combination of physical projection, athleticism, long track record of pure hitting ability and defensive chops at shortstop.

So far this spring, he’s had a ton of scouting heat at his games, with teams who pick among the top 15 or so really bearing down on him in a big way. Because of that attention, and with how well he’s performed in the early going, it seems like the industry is starting to view him as the top high school shortstop in the class, and potentially the best prep hitter outside of the Druw Jones/Termarr Johnson/Elijah Green trio of prospects at the top of the class.

On opening day, Holliday went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles and turned in near top-of-the-scale run times from the lefthanded batter’s box, albeit with a bit of a jailbreak involved in the run.

There is a perception that Holliday could be a tough sign out of his Oklahoma State commitment, but if he’s going in the top half of the first round that could become less of a concern—and that’s certainly where his stock is trending.

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Justin Crawford, OF, Bishop Gorman HS, Las Vegas (No. 43)

Holliday isn’t the only son of a former big leaguer who is trending up in a big way. Justin Crawford, the son of Carl Crawford, is off to a scorching start in Las Vegas and like Holliday was a highly projectable hitter who scouts tabbed as a possible riser this spring.

Through seven games, Crawford is hitting .542 (13-for-24) with two home runs, two doubles, a triple, two stolen bases and four walks to one strikeout.

Crawford was already starting to tap into more power last summer and fall in batting practice, and while he’s added strength to his tall frame, he’s still lean with much more room for additional strength gains, while still being one of the better runners in the class.

Like Holliday, he’s a toolsy prep hitter who has a chance to provide good defensive value at a premium position, with a polished lefthanded bat, bloodlines and a body you can continue to dream on.

It feels like that combination of tools and ability fit solidly in the first round, with some teams picking in the back of the first round now wondering whether or not he’ll make it to their pick. Crawford is committed to Louisiana State.

 

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Cole Phillips, RHP, Boerne (Texas) HS (NR)

Phillips just missed our preseason top 100 to start the season and will be a no-brainer addition to the list on our next update given what he has shown so far this season.

After pitching in the low 90s last summer and fall and touching 94, Phillips came out looking much more physically developed and has routinely been in the upper 90s and sitting in the mid 90s this spring.

That increased velocity has translated to a more powerful breaking ball as well, and some scouts have thrown Shane Baz comps on the Arkansas commit and placed him solidly in the first round based on talent.

It’s more common for prep righthanders to slide down draft boards as draft day gets closer, given the hesitancy the industry has with that specific demographic, but a barren college pitching class at the very top could change that calculus for teams.

Even if Phillips or a player like him doesn’t go in the first round, it’s common for them to get paid overslot in the comp rounds or second and third rounds, a la Bubba Chandler ($3 million in the third) last year.

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Jordan Beck, OF, Tennessee (No. 50)

After three weeks, the high school class certainly looks a bit more exciting than the college group given where players from the respective demographics are trending. While there’s a number of prep players trending up, a few marquee college outfielders (James Madison’s Chase DeLauter, Stanford’s Brock Jones, Baylor’s Jared McKenzie) are trending in the opposite direction.

That’s not at all the case for Beck, who is coming off a strong weekend at the Shriners Classic, where he went 3-for-12 (.250) with one home run, one walk and no strikeouts. The stat line doesn’t scream “fantastic” weekend but the reports from scouts certainly do.

He impressed evaluators with his approach, contact ability (just two whiffs during the weekend, one on an elevated 91 mph fastball and one chasing a 76 mph curveball below the zone), physicality in the box and game power.

 

Edited by DirtySox
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Here's Law's rankings. None of the excerpts though. (Except for another University of Iowa guy I didn't know existed.)

MLB Draft ranking 2022: Keith Law’s top prospects and a rare question — where are the college pitchers?


1.)    Druw Jones, OF, Wesleyan School
2.)    Termarr Johnson, SS, Mays HS, Atlanta
3.)    Elijah Green, OF, IMG Academy
4.)    Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly
5.)    Cameron Collier, 3B, Chipola College
6.)    Brock Jones, OF, Stanford
7.)    Logan Tanner, C, Mississippi State
8.)    Jace Jung, 2B, Texas Tech
9.)    Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech
10.)     Dylan Lesko, RHP, Buford (Ga.) HS
11.)     Sterlin Thompson, OF, Florida
12.)     Chase Delauter, OF, James Madison
13.)     Gavin Cross, OF, Virginia Tech
14.)     Jackson Holliday, SS, Stillwater (Okla.) HS
15.)     Jett Williams, SS, Rockwall-Heath (Texas) HS
16.)     Gavin Turley, OF, Hamilton HS, Chandler, Ariz.
17.)     Jordan Beck, OF, Tennessee
18.)     Justin Crawford, OF, Bishop Gorman HS, Las Vegas
19.)     Adam Mazur, RHP, Iowa
 

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The 6-3 Mazur showed a plus breaking ball on the Cape last summer, and now he’s sitting 94-95 mph with a high spin rate as well as a potentially above-average changeup. He transferred to Iowa this spring after spending two years at South Dakota State.


20.)     Zack Neto, SS, Campbell
21.)     Brock Porter, RHP, St. Mary’s Prep, Orchard Lake, Mich.
22.)     Walter Ford, RHP, Pace (Florida) HS
23.)     Cole Phillips, RHP, Boerne (Texas) HS
24.)     Robert Moore, 2B, Arkansas
25.)     Connor Prielipp, LHP, Alabama
26.)     Justin Campbell, RHP, Oklahoma State
27.)     Jacob Berry, OF, LSU
28.)     Jackson Ferris, LHP, IMG Academy
29.)     Luis Ramirez, RHP, Long Beach State
30.)     Cole Young, SS, North Allegheny HS
 

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Mazur has made an incredible jump.  If he's able to hold this new found stuff all spring he'll definitely be in the mix.  

As always It's an interesting list.  Jordan Beck is a super toolsy high ceiling athlete who is starting to figure it out at the plate. He's higher on Brock Porter than I would have thought.  Rocker not being in the top 30 is interesting too.  

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14 minutes ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

Mazur has made an incredible jump.  If he's able to hold this new found stuff all spring he'll definitely be in the mix.  

As always It's an interesting list.  Jordan Beck is a super toolsy high ceiling athlete who is starting to figure it out at the plate. He's higher on Brock Porter than I would have thought.  Rocker not being in the top 30 is interesting too.  

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Is more known about Kumar Rocker’s injury/physical status now? Seems like, if healthy, he compares favorably to this year’s pitching crop.

Keith Law

STAFF

2h ago

@Michael G. Everyone in the industry knows Rocker's status. His omission here was deliberate.

 

Edited by DirtySox
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2 hours ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

Rough times to be a college pitcher.  They're dropping like flies.  I'm sure it's completely unrelated to all the velocity programs they've been using.  

It’s insane how much they’re stressing velocity stuff at even the youngest levels of travel ball.  I know of a prominent 10u team that will pull you if you’re not at least at 50 mph on the mound.

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BA updated their draft top 200 rankings. They also have a list of 14 notable players who have moved up or down. Will provide that list with a few of the blurbs included that I find interesting or relevant.

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Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech
Current Rank: 7
Previous Rank: 15
Movement: +8

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Jackson Holliday, SS, Stillwater (Okla.) HS
Current Rank: 10
Previous Rank: 32
Movement: +22

Feedback from the industry so far seems to indicate Holliday is now viewed as the top high school shortstop in the class. He’s now moved into that position on our draft board and has plenty of teams picking in the first round bearing down on him early this spring.

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Jordan Beck, OF, Tennessee
Current Rank: 13
Previous Rank: 50
Movement: +37

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Robert Moore, 2B, Arkansas
Current Rank: 19
Previous Rank: 11
Movement: -8

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Cade Doughty, 2B, Louisiana State
Current Rank: 24
Previous Rank: 42
Movement: +18

Doughty started in the early second-round range on our pre-draft board but has been red hot out of the gate with LSU and is hitting .393/.480/.852 with six home runs, 10 doubles, 10 walks and seven strikeouts. Scouts will likely compare and contrast Doughty and Moore throughout the spring as two of the better college second basemen in the class, but Doughty’s approach and early-season power showing have scouts raving.

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Cole Phillips, RHP, Boerne (Texas) HS
Current Rank: 25
Previous Rank: NR
Movement: +76

Phillips was one of the players who just missed our top 100 preseason list and in hindsight, we would have forced him on the list. He’s been electric this spring with increased strength that has led to better velocity on his fastball and more power on his breaking ball and has received first round grades overall. High school righthanders are one of the trickier demographics to place, as they typically move down draft boards throughout the spring and often get selected later and paid more. At this point, Phillips’ ascent is somewhat reminiscent of Orioles righthander Grayson Rodriguez during the 2018 draft season.

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Justin Crawford, OF, Bishop Gorman HS, Las Vegas
Current Rank: 29
Previous Rank: 43
Movement: +14

Crawford, like Holliday, was a scout-favorite pick to rise on draft boards this spring thanks to easy physical projection and a solid foundation of baseball skills and tools. We touched on why Crawford and Holliday are moving up boards in our stock watch from last week, but at this point we have Crawford ranked as the top prep outfielder not named Druw Jones or Elijah Green.

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Brock Jones, OF, Stanford
Current Rank: 34
Previous Rank: 9
Movement: -25

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Gabriel Hughes, RHP, Gonzaga
Current Rank: 39
Previous Rank: 63
Movement: +24

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Carter Young, SS, Vanderbilt
Current Rank: 52
Previous Rank: 33
Movement: -19

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Sterlin Thompson, OF, Florida
Current Rank: 53 
Previous Rank: 79
Movement: +26

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Justin Campbell, RHP, Oklahoma State
Current Rank: 54 
Previous Rank: 82
Movement: +28

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Adam Mazur, RHP, Iowa
Current Rank: 56 
Previous Rank: NR
Movement: +45

Mazur is throwing harder this spring than what he showed in 2021 and that’s also coming after a strong showing in the Cape Cod League in 2021. He’s allowed a few runs in each of his last two starts and also walked four batters in his most recent outing against UC Irvine, but the early feedback from scouts on his stuff has been positive. Through four starts and 24 innings, Mazur has a 3.00 ERA with 28 strikeouts (10.5 K/9) and seven walks (2.6 BB/9).

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Jared McKenzie, OF, Baylor
Current Rank: 87 
Previous Rank: 40
Movement: -47

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2022-mlb-draft-stock-watch-14-notable-updown-movers-on-the-top-200-update/

Edited by DirtySox
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14 minutes ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

Noah Schultz threw for the first time on monday.  2 IP he was 91-95 and flashed a plus slider. If he holds that all spring he's a 1st round lock.  

Thanks.

Personally hoping for him to hover at late 1st round pick status. Looks like on BA's updated rankings he moved from 28 to 30.

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