2022 early look top prospects

[LookinUp]

Can't make my mind up on Holliday. Seems like a tremendous athlete but not necessarily going to stick at SS. That would be huge for me. Doesn't seem that different from Gunnar Henderson, to be honest.

Does seem like the defensive upside is with Jones and Greene, but Holliday and Jones are my pref.

[btdart20]

53 minutes ago, LookinUp said:

Can't make my mind up on Holliday. Seems like a tremendous athlete but not necessarily going to stick at SS. That would be huge for me. Doesn't seem that different from Gunnar Henderson, to be honest.

Does seem like the defensive upside is with Jones and Greene, but Holliday and Jones are my pref.

I waffle on Holliday too.  Though we could do worse than having 2 Gunnar's on the left side of the IF.  Boston has Bogaerts and Devers.  Gunnar will likely be a better defensive 3B than Devers and at least breakeven with Bogaerts.  But if the OPS/OPS+ matches what Bogaerts/Devers post, I think we'll have a little fun with that too!

[Hazmat]

How does Lee compare with Westburg?  They are similar in size but Lee has the much better offensive stats in college.  I could get on board with a Mountcastle - Westburg - Lee - Henderson infield.

[RZNJ]

Collier is 5 for 22 (all singles) with 6 walks and 6 k's up in the Cape.   It's great that he's 17 and he did have a nice year for Chipola junior college.   However, these numbers show that he's "surviving" as a 17 year old.   He's not embarrassing himself by any means but he's also not doing anything that is impressive.

Meanwhile, Termarr Johnson is 13 for 42 with 3 doubles and a triple with 7 walks and 12 strikeouts in a similar, but I assume slightly inferior, league.   His numbers aren't super impressive.   12 strikeouts are not so good but he does have the 4 extra base hits and he's gotten hot after a really slow start.    

It's hard to take too much from these numbers but neither has done anything, in my mind, to put the word "special" in my mind.     I do think Termarr is the better hitter now and probably future, if I had to guess.   If Termarr continues to hit like has the last 4 games, I might have to re-evalutate.

[joelala]

On 6/30/2022 at 9:26 AM, Can_of_corn said:

Aiken was taken 1-1 the draft before and didn't sign.

Annoyingly good fortune.

[RZNJ]

I mentioned that Collier is playing for Cotuit on the Cape.   He's 5 for 23.  All singles.   Previously I mentioned a list of players I'd be interested in picking in this draft.  One was Chandler Simpson, a SS for Georgia Tech who is either a 2B or LF-CF at the next level.    In the Norhwoods wood bat summer league in 2021, he hit .378 with 19 walks and 10 strikeouts in 226 PA.    Last season in Georgia Tech he hit .434 with 31 walks and 16 strikeouts in 241 PA.   This summer on the same team as Collier, the 21 yo is hitting .455 with 5 walks and 2 strikeouts in 44 AB's.    The scouting report in BA said he should be able to stick at 2B but just has an average to tick below average arm.   No power at all.   However, the kid can hit and make contact and BA has him rated as an 80 runner.    He can steal bases but my guess is that it's on pure speed right now.   His success percentages are not as good as you would expect.    I'm not sure I would go 2:1 for this kid but 3:1 sounds about right if he's still there.   BA says he could go 2nd or 3rd round.   Not a typical Elias/Ciolek pick by any means but Simpson has an intriguing set of skills.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=simpso006cha

[RZNJ]

Draft Combine results. Exit velocities, fastball velocities,  spin rates, etc.  Two players of interest are RHP Jacob Misiorowzki, and HS catcher, Adonys Guzman.  Guzman is a potential elite defender and showed good hitting chops at the combine. 

https://www.mlb.com/news/players-who-stood-out-at-2022-draft-combine-workout

[RZNJ]

On 10/6/2021 at 4:35 PM, Paul in Virginia said:

A "Why So Soon?!" 2022 MLB Mock Draft — Prospects Live

 

Baltimore Orioles - Druw Jones, OF, Wesleyan Academy

"This may come as a surprise to some, but in terms of process and evaluation, it makes a whole lot of sense. We believe Jones is not only one of the most exciting talents in this class, but his profile also fits the Mike Elias Standard Operating Procedure™....."

Kind of fun to go back to the beginning of these long threads.  I was actually looking for something else but this tidbit from October 2021 was amusing.  

[OriolesMagic83]

35 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Kind of fun to go back to the beginning of these long threads.  I was actually looking for something else but this tidbit from October 2021 was amusing.  

I assume that was when Jones was seem as a prospect who was on the margins of the top pick, and Elias would have picked him as an underslot.  So, it seems that he should be the pick since he made large strides from his junior year. 

[Just Regular]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/insider/story/_/id/34201481/2022-mlb-draft-storylines-did-mets-learn-their-mistake-yankees-find-another-aaron-judge

ESPN Kiley turning in his summer 2022 thesis this morning.

This has continued to morph over the years, and now clubs like the Orioles seem to be targeting college hitters with traits they desire (up-the-middle position, big exit velos among players at that position, some idea of the strike zone, not always the cleanest overall stat line) that also seem a lot like the players the 2002 A's would've largely ignored. Just in the past few drafts, the O's have paid at least $400,000 outside of the first round to these players of that type: Reed Trimble, John Rhodes, Jordan Westburg, Hudson Haskin, Anthony Servideo, Joey Ortiz and Zach Watson, in addition to a failed pursuit of Florida's Jud Fabian last year.

This year, there's a number of players who fit this Orioles type who could be in play for the second and third picks: Vanderbilt RF Spencer Jones, Tennessee RF Jordan Beck, Oregon State CF Jacob Melton, Oklahoma SS Peyton Graham, Cal RF Dylan Beavers, Louisville C Dalton Rushing, Florida CF Jud Fabian, VCU 3B Tyler Locklear, and Illinois State CF Ryan Cermak.

[PHRESH]