Baseball
Today and Tomorrow
The 2022 ZSABL Draft
Eastern Division
Amsterdam
The Bulldogs
selected Pittsburgh starting pitcher Zach Thompson(B)75innings in the 4th
round he will help to fill out the starting rotation. Uncarded SS Bryson Stott
was selected in round 7 and has made the Phillies starting day roster and will
see some action at third base with the major league club. Stott looks to have
the tools to be an above average ballplayer and perhaps more while only lacking
in power at this stage of his young career. We really like him. Infielder Jack
Mayfield 3B(4) SS(8) of the LAA was selected in the 8th
round he helps to fill out the roster requirements needed in the ZSABL rules
and that’s about it. Guardians Bobby Bradley was selected in the 9th
round. Bradley has a lot of power when he hits the ball but his 3year MLB BA
stands at a meager .201 and his glove well let’s just say he is better suited
for the DH position. Second baseman Andrew Young was selected in round 10. Drew
did not make Washington’s opening day roster and while he has put up some nice
numbers in the minors that has not equated to the big-league level. He looks to
be only organizational depth for the Nationals at this stage of his career and
doesn’t add much to the Bulldogs overall roster. Oakland outfielder Seth Brown
was picked in round 12. Somewhat of an enigma he has put up outstanding numbers
in average and power in the minors and showed good power in 2021 with 20 HRs
for the A’s but the BA left something to be desired. Brown at thirty years old
has never really had a full season of MLB experience which is baffling, he
could surprise and put up some decent numbers for the rebuilding A’s. Detroit
catcher Dustin Garneau .831OPS 62Abs will be the backup catcher to Grandal
along with Kirk. Four relief pitchers were also added to the roster three As
and a BZ.
Analysis
The Bulldogs selected
all pitchers with their first 5 picks and with good reason as the bullpen
needed to be upgraded more than anything else. Stott was by far their best pick
for the future. Amsterdam did what they needed to do early in the draft. With
that being said, we would have liked to have seen a couple of uncarded players
selected in the later rounds. Grade B
Brooklyn
The Mets selected
Oakland starting pitcher James Kaprielian(C)119
innings in the 4th round he will fill out the rotation. Kaprielian
has been plagued by injuries most of his career and he starts the MLB season on
injured reserve. With their second pick of the 4th round they picked
Miami first baseman Garrett Cooper. Cooper has been a steady player for the Marlins and he’ll play the outfield in Brooklyn. Like
Amsterdam they selected four pitchers with their first four picks all A
relievers.
Analysis
Brooklyn traded many
of the draft picks they had acquired from the previous season for future number
one picks. Seeing little offense in this year’s draft they will hope for better
selections next year. The A relief certainly helps this year. An average draft
by Brooklyn standards. Grade C
Queen City
The Rojos with 3 lottery picks in the first round selected 3
pitchers starting with Toronto’s SP Alek Manoah(B)112 innings. Manoah had an
outstanding rookie season at just 23 years of age and appears to have the
making of a top tier pitcher. They followed that pick with Oakland starting
pitcher Frankie Montas(B)187 innings. Montas has outstanding stuff and is the #1 pitcher on the
A’s staff but consistency is an issue. Trade rumors
abound hopefully he stays in Oakland’s pitcher friendly ballpark. The last of
the lottery picks was Atlanta’s Collin McHugh(ACZ)64
innings he started seven games for Tampa Bay in 2021 but looks to be a reliever
for the Braves. We will see how the Rojos use him.
With two picks in the second round, they selected two up and coming starting pitchers
first was Tampa’s Shane Baz(AZ)13 innings followed by
the White Sox’s Dylan Cease(C)166 innings we really like these two picks. Baz
is 23 years old and came up late last year and was impressive, albeit in 13
innings still there is a lot to like here. He will start the season on injured
reserve for Tampa. However, he is expected to return after minor elbow surgery
let’s hope that is the case for the young pitcher. Cease has been improving
each year and could have a breakout season if he can harvest the command of his
pitches. He has all the stuff but control has been an
issue so far in his career. In round 3 they had three picks the first was used
for a reliever followed by Miami outfielder Jesus Sanchez. Jesus has a lot of
potential and is just 24 years old but he doesn’t have a lot of experience so a learning curve is to be expected. Another
outfielder Myles Straw was taken next, he toiled in the Houston franchise for
years and finally got the chance at some playing time in Cleveland and made the
most of it. He batted .285 with 13SB in 60 games for the Guardians. He doesn’t
have much power but if can get on base with his speed it plays into the Rojos brand of ball. He will have to make a believer out of
us. Chicago White Sox’s first baseman Gavin Sheets was selected in the 6th
round. He has put up some nice numbers in the minors and some respectable
numbers in his first year of major league baseball. However, playing time could
be an issue and Andrew Vaughn is expected to be the heir apparent to Jose Abreu
at first base. In the 9th round they picked Cleveland SS Amed Rosario who will be their starting shortstop he had a
solid season in 2021 and will look to improve upon it in 2022. Not bad for a 9th
round pick. Rounds 11 and 12 brought two young uncarded catchers into the fold
starting with Oakland’s Tyler Soderstrom. Soderstrom is just 20 years old but one of the top
prospects in the A’s system he probably will end up as the A’s future first
baseman with impact potential. Pittsburgh’s Henry Davis was selected next and
is ranked as one of the top catching prospects in all of baseball. He’ll start
in high A ball and should reach Double A before too long. With their final
selection Queen City selected uncarded Arizona SS Jordan Lawler. Lawler a top
prospect had a setback with a labrum tear but is expected to have a full
recovery and could be their shortstop or third baseman of the future. Dispersed
among these picks the Rojos selected a few relievers
to keep them competitive for the 2022 season.
Analysis
Queen City realizing
they are a couple of years away from having a shot as a playoff contender had
one of the best drafts of 2022. Their selection of young starting pitchers was
outstanding. Along with some up and coming first year major league players and
top notch uncarded prospects the future is very bright. An excellent draft. Grade A
Las Vegas
The Crazy Horse
selected a reliever with their first pick of the draft in round three. In the 4th
round they selected KC SP Carlos Hernandez(B)86innings. Hernandez 23 years old
was thrown into the starting rotation for the Royals due to injuries and
performed admirably. His 3.68 ERA was his second lowest of his baseball career
counting the minor leagues. He only pitched 86 innings
so the jury is still out as to his long-term prospects. Still, he helps out the rotation for the 2022 season. With two picks
in the 5th round they first selected LAA outfielder Brandon Marsh a
highly rated prospect he had his first taste of big league play in 2021 at the
age of 24. He put up some respectable numbers while not overly impressive it
was something to build on. He had a good spring training
and we feel the potential is there for much more. The second pick of the round
was Cincinnati’s SP Reiver Sanmartin(ACZ)12 innings. Reiver came out of nowhere last year with
two impressive starts however both were against the lowly Pirates. Still, he
has put up some good numbers in the minors. He has two impressive prospects in Lodolo and Greene to fight off if he wishes to remain in
the starting rotation time will tell but we don’t see it happening. In the 6th
round they selected LAA SP Reid Detmers(D)a
first-round pick in the 2020 MLB draft he was just 21 years old with less than
one year of minor league ball under his belt when he got the call up to LA due
to injuries. He is slated for the starting rotation in LA for 2022 and probably
will have some growing pains but looks to be a good one with a lot of upsides.
In the 7th round they selected CWS OF Adam Engel .832OPS 123AB.
Though he may never reach the same OPS in the majors he certainly adds depth
and will see plenty of playing time in Vegas this year especially as a
defensive replacement. Nice pick. In round 8 they selected Senator’s catcher
Riley Adams. Adams played well when given the opportunity in 2021 but looks to
mostly be a backup to Keibert Ruiz. In round 9 they
selected another LAA player outfielder Taylor Ward a first-round pick way pack
in 2015 he had a monster year in AAA 1n 2019 but has yet to put it all together
at the major league level and at 28yrs old time is running out. Miami’s SP
Edward Cabrera was selected in round 10 he had his first taste of MLB in 2021
as a 23-year-old. It was not an impressive debut and
he did not make the major league roster going into 2022. He will have to
harness his control to be an effective pitcher at the major league level. Round
11 brought Tampa Bay’s Brendan McKay once a highly touted prospect he has been
riddled with injuries throughout his career and once again just recently had
surgery. He lost his shine a long time ago. Next in round 12 they selected
Twin’s SP Griffin Jax(D). No longer a starter or in the bullpen or on the
Twin’s roster not much to get excited about here. White sox third baseman Jake
Burger was selected in the 12th, actually this
is a better pick than the two previous picks but that’s not saying a whole lot.
A number 1 pick back in 2017 Burger went missing for 3 years due to injury and
covid, a flier pick and one we don’t think will work
out but what the heck. Vegas skipped round 13 and, in the 14th, they took
recently released Cardinal catcher Yadier Molina in his final MLB season he’s
great defensively but the stick is not what it once
was but still a capable backup.
Analysis
Vegas one of the
astute draft franchises in the league may have over reached
in this one. Not that they needed much to improve the roster. Marsh, Detmer and Engel were their best selections and may be the
only players from their draft on the roster next year. An uncarded catcher
would have been nice. Grade C
Philadelphia
The Black Sox’s had
the 2nd pick of the draft and selected Seattle SP Chris Flexen(BZ)170
innings he had an incredible season for the Mariner’s and is a big upgrade for
Philly this season. The question is can he repeat his 2021 performance? We
don’t think so. In the 4th round they selected Miami outfielder Avisail Garcia .820 OPS OF-3 hard to believe he was still
around this late into the draft he’ll slide into a starting outfield position.
In the 6th round they selected Twin’s starting pitcher Joe Ryan(CZ)
with 26 innings. Joe got his first taste of big-league ball in 2021 and did
well, he’s not proven but we feel he has the potential to be even better in
2022. Detroit’s Eric Hasse C/OF was taken in round 8.
Hasse has some pop and will split the catching duties
with Curt Casali. Defensively he is a liability. In
the same round they selected Washington’s SP Josiah Gray(D) once a highly
touted prospect in the Reds and Dodgers organizations he has yet to live up to
the hype. A few relief pitchers were also selected to bolster the bullpen.
Analysis
Philadelphia
certainly improved their ballclub and that is what the draft is all about. If
anything, there are a couple players on the roster we would have released and
gone uncarded to get younger. Grade B
Rochester
The Rockers selected
Chicago Cubs first baseman Frank Schwindel in the 2nd
round. Schwindel labored in the Royals farm system
for years and actually put up decent numbers but was
never really given a chance with the major league ballclub. He was signed as a
free agent by Oakland put on waivers and was picked up by the Cubs. Taking
advantage of the situation he put up some impressive numbers with a .962 OPS.
but with limited at bats. Is he the real deal? At age 30 it’s hard to see him
duplicating the OPS still, we feel he will be a solid player and certainly
helps the Rockers for 2021. In round 3 they selected another Cubby this time
outfielder Rafael Ortega at the age of 30 he had his best season at the major
league level sporting a .823 OPS in 296 at bats. The Dodgers starting pitcher
Tyler Anderson(CZ)167 innings was selected in round 6
he adds depth to the rotation. In the 7th round they selected 45year old oops,
35year old Josh Harrison who has seen better days. In the 8th round
they selected Brewer’s outfielder Hunter Renfroe. A nice pick this late in the
draft although we were disappointed to see a fielding 2 rating. In the 12th
round they selected another Cubby in Swingman pitcher Adrian Sampson(BZ)
5 starts he'll help to fill out the rotation. He is not on the Cub’s roster in
2022. Baltimore’s SP Chris Ellis(A) 6 starts 29 innings was taken in round 13
he also is not on the Orioles opening day roster. The Rockers drafted catcher
Kurt Suzuki in round 14 he’ll backup Barnhart. They took a flyer with their
final pick in round 15 San Diego’s SP Mike Clevenger. Clevinger
did not pitch in 2021 and is currently on the injured reserve list in San
Diego. Relief pitching was also added in the draft to bolster the pen.
Analysis
The Rockers plugged
some holes but the long-term prospects of most of the picks leave something to
be desired. But they can worry about that next year. Some young uncarded
players would have been nice. Grade C
Sherwood
The Machine selected
Brewer’s SP Eric Lauer(B)119innings in the 2nd round. Lauer had
impressive minor league numbers while in the San Diego farm system and moved up
the ladder quickly however, his MLB stats up to 2021 were average with control
being an issue. Lauer looked to put it altogether in 2021 after returning from
a shoulder injury in the 2020 season. If he can stay healthy, he could once
again put up some nice numbers. In round 4 they selected Detroit outfielder Akil Baddoo. Baddoo
got off to a hot start in his first MLB appearance but slowed down a little in
the second half of the season. He hit 13 home runs in all with all 13 coming
against right-handed pitching. He may be better suited in a platoon situation but he is young and perhaps he can figure out the
lefties. In the 5th with 3 picks, they first selected St. Louis
utility infielder Edmundo Sosa who looked to come into his own in 2021 a nice
young player with solid potential. They followed that with a reliever then
selected uncarded Boston prospect SS Marcelo Mayer. Mayer was selected 4th
in the MLB draft right out of high school so it will be a while till he sees
the big show but he is highly regarded. A bunch of relievers were taken in the
next few rounds before finishing their draft with another young shortstop
Arizona’s Geraldo Perdomo in round 12. Perdomo got a small taste of the
big-time last year at 22 years old he is an intriguing ballplayer he has a very
good glove and looks to be the heir apparent to Nick Ahmed if he can hit.
Analysis
A nice draft with
some young players that should pay off in the future. A couple of uncarded
starting pitchers would have been nice. Grade B