2022 MLB Draft Thread

[Y2Jimmy0]

56 minutes ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

They would shit themselves if Susac was there at 26. 

They'd take him? 

[Y2Jimmy0]

15 minutes ago, fathom said:

Who’s new name in top 10

Cade Horton to the Rockies 

[NCsoxfan]

26. Chicago White Sox

Daniel Susac, C, Arizona

Susac seems to have some support in the teens but I couldn't find a spot for him to land, so the Sox stopped his slide here. I'd been hearing college bats mostly for the White Sox, but that may be because that's what's projected to be available in this area. There has also been a shift in talk recently to an underslot college arm to save money for prep upside on future picks. Keep an eye on college pitchers who are in the Nos. 35-60 area of my rankings including Jake Bennett, Peyton Pallette, Landon Sims, Jonathan Cannon and Thomas Harrington.

[DirtySox]

From BA with some later pick guesses.

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26

Carson Whisenhunt

East Carolina LHP

Notes:

Total Bonus Pool: $6,289,100
Pick Slot Value: $2,788,000

I’m continuing to tie college pitchers with the White Sox and there should be a number of solid options who make it to this pick—it’s figuring out which one that is a much trickier proposition. Whisenhunt—like Connor Prielipp—could have been a top-15 talent in this class with a full college season under his belt.

Dart Throw Later Picks: California HS RHP Riley Kelly, Oklahoma State RHP/3B Nolan McLean

 

Edited July 15, 2022 by DirtySox

[fathom]

McLean went to Okl St to be a QB....welcome to the Sox, Nolan

[Harold's Leg Lift]

26 minutes ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

They'd take him? 

They would unless the analytics department killed him.  You never know with them. 

[DirtySox]

For anyone else that wanted to know about Riley Kelly and Nolan McClean. From BA. Kelly ranked 94th, McLean is 135th.
 

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Riley Kelly
Tustin (Calif.) HS RHP
Notes:
HT: 6-4 | Wt: 200 | B-T: R-R
Commit/Drafted: UC Irvine
Age At Draft: 18.2
BA Grade: 50/Extreme
Tools: Fastball: 60. Curveball: 70. Changeup: 30. Control: 50.

Kelly played quarterback on his high school football team and had a fastball in the low-to-mid 80s as a junior because he overused his arm playing both sports. He failed to make the Area Code Games and didn’t have a single college scholarship offer entering his senior year, but he dropped football and saw his velocity spike to make him one of the biggest risers in this year’s draft class. Kelly is an athletic, broad-shouldered 6-foot-4 righthander with immense natural arm talent. His fastball jumped to sit 89-92 mph and touch 94 with high spin rates this spring. He has a preternatural ability to spin and command a 78-80 mph curveball that frequently registers 2,900-3,200 rpms, spin rates on par with the best curveballs in the major leagues. He has lots of room to fill out his projectable frame and add more velocity and power to both pitches. Kelly’s athleticism, arm strength and feel for spin excite, but his delivery is extremely unrefined, his changeup is well below-average and he struggles to hold his velocity late in games. He has received little high-level coaching and will need years of strength gains and delivery improvements to reach his potential. Teams bullish on Kelly see an exciting raw ball of clay with mid-rotation upside, while others are wary of his lack of polish and long development path ahead. He is committed to UC Irvine.

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Nolan McLean
Oklahoma State RHP/3B
Notes:
HT: 6-3 | Wt: 207 | B-T: R-R
Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 20.9
BA Grade: 40/High
Tools: Fastball: 60. Curveball: 55. Slider: 50. Control: 40.
Hit: 30. Power: 55. Run: 30. Field: 45. Arm: 60.

McLean showed impressive raw power as a righthanded hitter and big arm strength with a fastball in the mid 90s out of high school. He made it to campus at Oklahoma State where he also was on the university’s football team initially, before dropping the sport and focusing on baseball. A two-way player with the Cowboys, McLean has continued to show massive raw power with top-end exit velocities around 110 mph, though that power has come with significant swing and miss. In 2022 McLean hit .285/.397/.595 with 19 home runs and 16 doubles, but he also struck out 107 times—good for a 36.9% strikeout rate. Because of that, teams might now be more excited about his upside as a pitcher. He posted a 4.97 ERA over 25.1 innings out of the bullpen, with 39 strikeouts (35.1 K%) and 13 walks (11.7 BB%). He attacks hitters with a high-usage fastball in the 94-95 mph range that’s been up to 98 this spring. While he overwhelmingly pitches off the fastball, McLean has shown some potential with both a mid-80s slider and upper-70s curveball that flashes hard, downward bite. Both pitches have impressive raw spin (in the 2,800-3,100 rpm range) but he’ll need to develop considerably more feel and consistency. McLean looks the part of a former football player on the mound, with an extremely physical and strong 6-foot-3, 205-pound frame.

 

Edited July 15, 2022 by DirtySox

[DirtySox]

Also Susac who is ranked 11th. Would be surprising if he did indeed fall to the Sox.

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Daniel Susac

Arizona C

Notes:

HT: 6-4 | Wt: 218 | B-T: R-R
Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 21.1
BA Grade: 55/High
Tools: Hit: 55. Power: 55. Run: 40. Field: 50. Arm: 60.

Susac ranked as the No. 118 player in the 2020 class out of high school, where he stood out as a power-oriented backstop with arm strength and big league bloodlines—his brother, Andrew, caught for five years in the big leagues. After going undrafted, the 6-foot-4, 218-pound catcher had a freshman All-American campaign in 2021 (.335/.392/.591, with 12 home runs and 24 doubles) and was named the 2021 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year for his efforts. In his draft-eligible 2022 season, Susac continued to perform with the bat and followed up with a .367/.432/.598 slash line with 12 home runs and 19 doubles. Susac hits the ball hard and puts the ball in the air, with plus raw power, though most of his homers came to the pull side this spring. A long-levered hitter, there is some swing and miss in his game (evidenced by 18% and 15% strikeout rates the last two seasons) and Susac has been prone to chasing out of the zone a bit more often than scouts would like, which leads to average, or above-average hit tool grades rather than the 60-grade hit tool his .350 career average might suggest. He has hammered fastballs and done well against 93-plus mph velocity but will swing and miss more frequently against breaking and offspeed offerings. Even with some swing and miss, Susac’s top-end exit velocities stand out and should allow him to provide plenty of impact for the catcher position. Defensively, Susac has a chance to be an average defender behind the plate, which is a credit to him given his tall frame. He is a solid athlete (he was a standout high school quarterback) with plus arm strength and a 24% caught stealing rate this spring. Susac is one of the more divisive players at the top of the 2022 draft class, with some teams viewing him as an easy top-10 talent and others viewing him as more of a back-of-the-first sort of prospect. Still, the industry tends to push college catchers up the board and Susac is a proven hitter with power who should stick behind the plate.

 

Edited July 15, 2022 by DirtySox

[Quin]

Well, from all these mock drafts I've concluded the Sox will indeed draft someone.

[DirtySox]

Also some Cox as mentioned by Kiley. Ranked 43rd via BA. Is it just me or are the Sox being linked to lots of prep pitchers with standout curveballs?

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Jackson Cox

Toutle Lake HS, Toutle, Wash. RHP

Notes:

HT: 6-1 | Wt: 182 | B-T: R-R
Commit/Drafted: Oregon
Age At Draft: 18.8
BA Grade: 55/Extreme
Tools: Fastball: 60. Curveball: 65. Changeup: 50. Control: 55.

If you’re a fan of high-spin, knee-buckling breaking balls, Jackson Cox might be the prospect for you. The 6-foot-1, 182-pound righthander showed some of the best feel to spin a breaking ball over the showcase circuit last summer, while also running his fastball up to 95 mph. That fastball/curveball combination made him a top-three round talent in the industry, but he’s improved that stock further this spring and been heavily scouted in the Pacific Northwest. Cox cleaned up his body and added strength over the offseason and that translated to increased velocity. He has pitched in the 92-95 mph range and ran his fastball up to 98 at peak. He’s continued to snap off one of the better breaking balls scouts have seen, a short, tight and late-biting curveball in the 79-83 mph range that starts on plane with his fastball and then just disappears. It gets up into the 3,000 rpm range and has earned double-plus future grades as a potential wipeout offering. Cox has also thrown a low-to-mid-80s changeup that could become an average offering with more refinement. While Cox is a bit undersized, he is athletic with a fast arm and still has a bit more physical projection remaining. He has a short, striding delivery that could be cleaned up a bit as well, but overall scouts have been impressed with his command and he could develop above-average control. Cox is committed to Oregon but is a clear top-two round talent and could sneak into the first.

 

Edited July 15, 2022 by DirtySox

[GreenSox]

50 minutes ago, NCsoxfan said:

26. Chicago White Sox

Daniel Susac, C, Arizona

 There has also been a shift in talk recently to an underslot college arm to save money for prep upside on future picks. 

Sounds good to me (the underslot, not the catcher).  A lot of college pitchers seem to be on basically the same level.

Edited July 15, 2022 by GreenSox

[DirtySox]

More mocks. Prospects live this time.

https://www.prospectslive.com/prospects-live/2022-mlb-mock-draft-n78w7-st9r4-wa35p-2n5ls

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26. Chicago White Sox

Tucker Toman, 3B, Hammond

The White Sox have been connected to so many names here it’s almost nauseating to count. Everyone knew they were taking Colson Montgomery in 2021. That transparency won’t be the case this year. They like Beavers, though they’ve been connected to Gilbert, Rocker, Thompson, Campbell, Rocker and others here too.

Have Roman Anthony as the 2nd round selection still as well.

Edited July 15, 2022 by DirtySox

[PolishPrince34]

I would be shocked if they drafted Susac. Haven’t seen or read any connections with the Sox. 

[TheFutureIsNear]

Haven’t read through this whole thread…who are some of the players the white Sox are linked to?

With my very limited scouting I don’t hate taking Sterlin Thompson. Not a sexy pick, but he has a relatively high floor to be a good hitting RF in my opinion. Has a good approach using all fields and a sweet lefty stroke. In theory, with his frame, more power seems like it should come

[bmags]

20 minutes ago, TheFutureIsNear said:

Haven’t read through this whole thread…who are some of the players the white Sox are linked to?

With my very limited scouting I don’t hate taking Sterlin Thompson. Not a sexy pick, but he has a relatively high floor to be a good hitting RF in my opinion. Has a good approach using all fields and a sweet lefty stroke. In theory, with his frame, more power seems like it should come

I think if we counted up all the mocks toman probably has plurality, but as you can imagine at where sox are drafting it's a lot more of a crapshoot. One week it's "sox are gonna go college pitching" then its "sox are looking at prep bats". And there has been a few prep pitchers too depending on who falls, so I don't know that there is a single profile that you'd write-off sox going after from what we know now.

[bmags]

So the one precedent we've seen with Shirley in Crochet and Montgomery is them putting a lot of weight in their last look. They saw what Crochet was in March, they went with that. They saw colsons progression in weak team ball, and it paid off. So late risers.etc are guys to keep an eye on i think.

[Y2Jimmy0]

5 minutes ago, bmags said:

So the one precedent we've seen with Shirley in Crochet and Montgomery is them putting a lot of weight in their last look. They saw what Crochet was in March, they went with that. They saw colsons progression in weak team ball, and it paid off. So late risers.etc are guys to keep an eye on i think.

They loved how Montgomery looked at the combine too. I have personally heard from a very, very plugged in person that the preference is pitching. The Tucker Toman smoke is real though. I don’t have an answer as to like, which pitchers they absolutely wouldn’t pass on. Toman or college pitching seems most likely but you have to stay flexible at 26 while remaining cognizant of your plans in rounds 2-20. 

[southsider2k5]

1 hour ago, DirtySox said:

More mocks. Prospects live this time.

https://www.prospectslive.com/prospects-live/2022-mlb-mock-draft-n78w7-st9r4-wa35p-2n5ls

Have Roman Anthony as the 2nd round selection still as well.

Hold on, this the first Kumar Rocker connection I have seen... is that accurate?

[bmags]

2 hours ago, DirtySox said:

Also Susac who is ranked 11th. Would be surprising if he did indeed fall to the Sox.

 

Susac unfortunately is more of a pitchers name so I'm struggling to believe he can succeed as catcher

[bmags]

total middle reliever name profile.

[TheFutureIsNear]

If we do go college arm I like Justin Campbell. Big tall kid at 6’7 with a deceptive arm motion. Stuff isn’t jaw dropping but the changeup is a very nice pitch already. Curve could use some work, but it’s not bad. Probably need to cleanup the weird glove dip he does in his windup but everything else about his delivery is clean. 

[NCsoxfan]

Brock Jones sounds good to me

[bmags]

1 minute ago, NCsoxfan said:

Brock Jones sounds good to me

I like Brock Jones too but I think we are in a minority there.

[NCsoxfan]

5 minutes ago, bmags said:

I like Brock Jones too but I think we are in a minority there.

A former football player who now plays baseball, great athlete, 20/20 potential, and went to Stanford. Are we sure Kenny won’t fall in love? 

[Timmy U]

Jones has been streaky and the track record on Stanford hitters is pretty bad.  He does hit lefty.  I could see it, but I think both Gilbert and Beavers are ahead of him.  I bet he goes comp/early 2nd.