Baseball Today and Tomorrow
The 2022 ZSABL Draft
Billings
The Mustangs had two
picks in the first round and with the 12th overall pick they selected
Pittsburgh’s SS Oneil Cruz. One of the top prospects
in all of baseball he got a taste of MLB in 2021 and showed why he is so highly
regarded. He probably will end up playing the outfield and has the potential of
a future star. With their second pick of the round, they selected Cubs OF Seiya Suzuki a star in the Japanese baseball league he’s
off he’s to a good start as the MLB season begins. In round two they selected
one of the top if not the top pitching prospect in all of baseball Baltimore’s
Grayson Rodriquez. Grayson will begin the year at AAA he’s only 22yrs old but there
is a good chance he gets to the big show this season.
In the third round
Billings selected another young pitcher Detroit’s Tarik Skubal(C)149
in only his second year of major league ball he threw 149 innings with a
respectable 4.34ERA. He has the potential to be a top tier pitcher. Round 4 saw
another top Minor League prospect selected Toronto’s young catcher Gabriel
Moreno. Moreno is just 22yrs old and had a terrific season in AA he’ll open the
season at AAA but it may be a couple of years till we
see him with the big-league club. In the 6th round they selected SP
Mike Minor(CZ) 159 innings he’ll slide in to the
starting rotation. In the 7th round they selected Toronto’s
infielder Santiago Espinal he got a chance at some fulltime play for the first
time in 2021 batting .311 with a .376 OBP. He doesn’t have much pop but has
good speed and can play anywhere in the infield. In round 8 they selected
Yankee SP Jordan Montgomery(C)157 innings he helps to fill out the starting
rotation and has perhaps a higher upside. In the 9th they selected
another uncarded pitching prospect George Kirby. Kirby was a first-round pick
of the Seattle Mariners in 2019. We like him and had
him highly rated.
In the 10th
they selected Tampa Bay OF Josh Lowe another first round pick in the 2016 MLB draft out of high school. He had impressive numbers in minor
league ball in 2019 and 2021 and will begin the season with the major league
club. In round 11 they selected uncarded Cub’s OF prospect Brennen Davis. Davis
is another highly rated prospect who moved from high A ball all the way to AAA
in 2021. He may get a cup of coffee with the major league ballclub at the end
of the 2022 season at 22 years of age. With their final pick of the draft in
round 12 they picked NY Mets OF Travis Jankowski purely a APBA move as he will
be the only grade 3 outfielder on the roster.
Analysis
Billings the reigning
ZSABL champions realizing they needed to retool drafted for the future and did
quite well. Selecting a combination of uncarded players along with some up and
coming younger players bodes well for the Mustangs. Grade
B+
Cleveland
The Naps with the 9th
overall pick in the draft selected Cub’s SP Wade Miley(B)163 innings. At
35 years of age there were a few younger carded pitchers with a better upside
than Miley still, he helps fill out the starting rotation. The next 3 rounds
saw relief help. The Yankee’s Mike King(B)63 innings was selected in the 5th
round he had 6 starts in 2022 but most of his appearances were out of the pen.
Baltimore’s SS Jorge Mateo was selected in the 6th round. Once a
promising prospect in the A’s organization he showed some promise in a short
stint with the Orioles in 2021 he’ll look to build upon it going into the new
season. In the 7th round they selected Toronto’s catcher Danny
Jansen, Jansen has some pop but his overall batting
approach is suspect attested by his .215 major league 5yr. batting average.
In the 8th
round they selected uncarded Braves OF Michael Harris who has catapulted to the
number one prospect in the organization. He’s off to a great start at AA
Mississippi. Tampa Bay prospect infielder Jonathan Aranda was taken in the 9th
round. Aranda was signed as a 2017 international free agent at 17yrs of age and
is moved rather quickly up the Rays minor league system he is now playing for
their AAA team the Durham Bulls. In the 10th round they selected
Seattle’s 2B Abraham Toro he had a decent 2021 season and will look to build on
that in 2022. Miami outfielder Bryan De La Cruz was taken in the 11th
round. De La Cruz had an impressive debut in 2021 with a .296BA and a .783OPS at
the age of 25 he may be just coming in to his own. With their final pick in the
draft, they selected uncarded SS Jose Miranda of the Minnesota Twins. Miranda
hit 30HR’s between AA and AAA in 2021 and is on the fast track to Minnesota.
Analysis
In the first half of
their draft Cleveland passed on some highly regarded prospects as well as some good
younger players. We question the use of their third and fourth round picks for
A relief when they obviously were going to have a challenging season in 2022
with or without the relief help. The Naps did make a nice off-season trade acquiring
two young starting pitchers in Casey Mize and Pablo Lopez. Adding those two
along with some very nice young players selected in the second half of their draft,
they certainly are much improved team. Though it won’t show up in the win
column this year expect a much stronger team in 2023. Grade C+
Hartford
The Hurricane’s had
two picks in the second round of the draft starting with the 17th overall
pick they selected the Cub’s third baseman Patrick Wisdom. Wisdom had a career
year in 2021 hitting 28HR’s with a .823OPS at the age of 29. There is bound to
be some regression here in the 2022 MLB season but he
certainly helps the Canes this year though the glove leaves something to be
desired. Their second pick in the round was Seattle’s SP Logan Gilbert(CZ) 119 innings like most teams we had him highly
rated. Nice pick. In round 3 they selected White Sox’s pitcher Reynaldo Lopez(BZ)58 innings. Lopez started 9 games out of 20 apparencies
in 2021 and probably will remain a spot starter in the 2022 MLB season. Hartford
had two picks in the 4th round, first was Detroit’s starting pitcher Wily
Peralta(B)94 innings. His 3.07ERA was the lowest of his 10yr major league
career. We don’t see that happening again but certainly helps to fill out the
starting rotation in 2022 for Hartford. The second pick was Giant’s 1B/OF
Lamonte Wade Jr. Wade Jr. was traded by the Twins to the Giants and his first
season with San Fran was his best season to date, ending the season with a
.808OPS and a 3 OF rating. Nice.
The Canes had two
picks in the 5th round and selected uncarded Yankee SS prospect
Anthony Volpe. Volpe 21 years old played in A and high A with impressive
numbers in 2021 he’ll move up to AA for the 2022 season and may be on the fast
track to the Big Apple. With their second pick of the round they selected
Yankee’s SP Luis Gil(BW)29 innings a hard thrower who
has trouble finding the plate he will have to reduce the walks if he is to be
an effective major league pitcher. In round 6 they selected long time Yankee
prospect and utility player Tyler Wade now with the LAA. Wade doesn’t bring any
pop to the plate but he does have some speed and can
play all over the field, every team needs one. In the 7th round they
selected the Brave’s veteran catcher Manny Pina a good defensive catcher with
some pop he’ll play in a platoon role for the Hurricanes. Round 8 saw another
catcher selected, this time uncarded Oakland’s Shea Langeliers
a first-round pick of the Atlanta Braves in 2019. He was traded along with a
host of other players to the A’s for Matt Olson. He
was highly regarded in the Atlanta system and could force Sean Murphy to 1B/DH. With a second pick in the same round, they
selected another uncarded Yankee prospect 22yr old SS Oswald Peraza. Like Volpe
he’s quickly moved up through the minors and could get to New York before Volpe
time will tell. With their final pick in the 9th round they selected
Milwaukee OF Tyrone Taylor he got his first chance at playing time in 2021 after
having been in the organization for 12 years. He put up some decent numbers
with a .778OPS but probably plays out as a 4th outfielder for the
Brewers and released by the Canes after the 2022 ZSABL ends.
Analysis
A very solid daft for
Hartford as they try and make another run at a divisional crown having come up
a little short last season. Wisdom and Wade Jr add to the offense and Gilbert
is a stud in the making. Some nice uncarded prospects with Langeliers
perhaps being the best of the bunch as Yankee prospects are usually over hyped.
Grade B+
Memphis
The Sound selected
Rockies catcher Elias Diaz in the second round he’ll help spell Buster Posey
who has limited at bats. Diaz had a decent MLB season with the bat posting a
.774OPS and is a (8) rated defensive catcher. In the third round they selected
LAA SP Patrick Sandoval(B)87 innings. Sandoval had his best season for the
Angels but in limited starts. His minor league numbers are not very impressive
except for the 2018 season and injuries have been an issue. In the 9th
round they selected uncarded catcher Kansas City’s MJ Melendez. He had a
monster minor league season between AA and AAA with 41hrs and 103RBI’ rated 2nd
only behind Bobby Witt in the KC organization he should be the heir apparent to
Salvador Perez. We like this pick this late in the draft. In the 11th round they selected
another uncarded player the National’s SP Cade Cavalli he started the 2021
season in high A ball and ended up in AAA. He was a first-round pick in the
2020 MLB draft. With their final pick in the 12th round they
selected yet another uncarded player Pittsburgh’s second baseman Nick Gonzalez
another first round pick in 2020 he comes highly rated he’ll start the season
in AA. In between the Sound drafted three A relief pitchers.
Analysis
With Buster Posey
retired and Molina in his final year of MLB play the Sound desperately needed a
catcher until Baltimore’s Adley Rautchman
is called up to the majors so Diaz was the man. Perhaps a little too early in
our opinion. Having lost out to Logan Gilbert the Sandoval pick is iffy coming
off an injury that ended his 2021 season early, so we will wait and see. Was
2021 a fluke for Melendez? The A relief should help but there is a lot of
question marks in this draft for Memphis. Grade C
Norfolk
The Neptune’s had
the first pick of the draft and selected the Giant’s SP Logan Webb(BZ)148 innings. The best starting pitcher in the draft he’ll
be the number two starter in Norfolk and is a big addition to the staff and
should be for years to come. They had two selections in the second round first
selecting a reliever than the Diamondbacks Catcher/OF Daulton Varsho (C-7).755OPS. Varsho has put
up some impressive numbers in the minors and looks to be coming into his own in
his 3rd season of major league ball he’ll split time with Mitch
Garver. Another Giant was selected in the 5th round Steven Duggar
(OF-3) .767OPS, he will slide into a platoon role due to limited at bats. In the
6th and 7th round relief help was selected. In round 8 Minnesota’s
SP Bailey Ober(CZ)92 innings was selected we like him.
With three picks in the 10th round they selected Houston OF Chas
McCormick (OF-2) .766OPS he will platoon with Duggar this year but it’s
doubtful he’ll be on the roster next year. With the second pick in the round they selected the Nationals infielder Luis Garcia, he
put up some impressive numbers at AAA in 2021 and was recently called up to the
big show and is off to a nice start.
A reliever was
selected with their final pick in the 10th round. In the 11th round
they selected one of the top third base prospects Josh Jung of the Texas
Rangers. Jung looked like he could possibly start the season with the big-league
club but unfortunately was injured with a stress fracture of his left foot. Surprising
to see him still available this late in the draft but obviously teams were
concerned with the injury.
Analysis
The draft certainly makes
the Neptune’s a playoff contender with Webb, Varsho
and Duggar being the major contributors for 2022. We liked the Ober, Garcia and Jung picks as well. The bullpen was a concern
among the fan base and was improved but was it enough? A solid draft. Grade B+
San Diego
The Sixer’s did not
have a pick in the first round but in the second they selected the Brewers SP
Adrian Houser(B) 142 innings. Houser is coming off his best major league season
and will look to build upon it. In the 3rd round they selected a
reliever. In round 4 they selected Tampa’s SP Drew Rasmussen (B)76 innings he was
mostly used in relief in the Brewers organization in 2020 and 21 before the
trade to Tampa, but that changed with the Rays and he
made the most of the opportunity. We like him. The 5th, 6th
and 7th rounds were used to bolster the bullpen. In the 8th
round they selected Phillies OF Matt Vierling (OF-2)
.843OPS. Vierling has put up some good numbers in the
minors and when called upon for his first taste of major league ball played
quite well. He only has 71 at bats so he’ll fill in for a spot start here and
there. More relief was selected in the 9th round followed by another
outfielder in the 10th the National’s Lane Thomas (OF-2).740OPS. Thomas
started in the Toronto organization and was with St Louis before ending up in
Washington. He should get a chance to play with more regularity with the
Nationals. In the 11th round they selected St Louis SP Miles Mikolas (CZ) 45 innings he’ll help to fill out the starting
rotation or be used in a relief role. In the 12th round they
selected Detroit SP Eduardo Rodriquez (C)158 innings he’s been a C pitcher with
no control his entire career we would have gone uncarded to try and get younger
being the oldest team in the division.
Analysis
Using the 5th
through 7th rounds for BZ relief pitching while fielding an aging
roster even with a possible chance at third place finish was
questionable in our view. This may have been the year to bite the bullet and
gone for the future with young and uncarded players much like Billings. Grade C
Union Station
The Cowboys had two
picks in the first round with the 3rd overall pick they selected Boston’s
Garrett Whitlock one of the best relief pitchers available but also with the assumption
perhaps that he would be moving into a starting role in the 2022 MLB season.
They followed that with the Yankee’s SP Nestor Cortes Jr. (BZ) 93 innings we
had him highly rated like most publications. Two nice first round picks
especially now that Whitlock is in the starting rotation in Boston. In the 3rd
round they had two picks and selected the A’s SP Cole Irvin (CZ)178 innings followed
by a reliever. Irvin had put up some good numbers in the minors for the
Phillies but never given much of a chance before being traded to the A’s for cash considerations. It looks like he’s found a home
in Oakland.
In the 4th
round they selected another relief pitcher followed by Houston OF Jose Siri in
round five. Siri a long time Reds prospect who was claimed off waivers by
Seattle in 2020 only to picked up by the Giants on waiver a month later was
eventually designated for assignment by the Giants. In 2021 he was signed by
the Astros and got a shot at the big time at the end of the season putting up a
.956OPS with 41AB at 27yrs of age. The Cowboys went uncarded in the 6th
round selecting the Dodgers top prospect catcher Diego Cartaya
he’s only 20yrs old and currently in High A ball. In round 7 they selected a
reliever followed by another uncarded player in the 8th round Cuban
defector Yoelqui Cespedes outfielder in the White
Sox’s organization. Yoelqui is 24yrs old and currently
playing AA ball. In rounds 9 and 10 again they went uncarded selecting two
highly rated shortstops first was Seattle’s Noelvi Marte followed by Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson. Noelvi is currently at high A while Henderson has shot up
to AAA at 21yrs of age.
Analysis
A very strong draft
by Union station with a mix of proven and uncarded players giving them a shot
at the playoffs as well as a bright future.
Grade
B+