2022 MLB Draft Review: Los Angeles Dodgers

Full list of draftees

The Dodgers had their first round pick pushed back ten spots due to luxury tax penalties, then also lots their second round pick after signing Freddie Freeman, leaving their first two picks at #40 and #105. Still, the Dodgers always draft well and were able to extract good value from the position they were in, with a very bat-heavy draft that didn't see a pitcher taken until Virginia lefty Brandon Neeck. There was also some California flair with picks out of UCLA, St. Mary's, and Westmont in addition to two additional picks (Arizona State's Sean McLain and Baylor's Kyle Nevin) that grew up in Southern California.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.

2-40: C Dalton Rushing, Louisville. My rank: #37.
Slot value: $1.95 million. Signing bonus: likely around slot value.
The Dodgers may have had their pick pushed back, but they still got a very good player at number forty. Dalton Rushing didn't play much over his first two years at Louisville, but hit .319/.406/.543 with seven home runs in 39 games in the Cape Cod League and significantly raised his profile. His rise continued this spring, when he hit .310/.470/.686 with 23 home runs and led Louisville to super regionals. Rushing has a strong, compact 6'1" frame with a compact swing from the left side, but he produces plus power from it that he has tapped more and more in games. He does swing and miss some, but he's disciplined at the plate and draws a ton of walks, so the transition to pro pitching should not be an issue. It's a really appealing offensive profile that could produce 25-30+ home runs a year, with relatively high walk-driven on-base percentages. The defensive side isn't quite as clear, as he hasn't received consistent reps behind the plate and he's looked just decent back there. The Dodgers can choose to be patient with him back there, but with long term answers like Will Smith and Diego Cartaya already in the organization, they may not need to. If he's not a catcher, the Memphis-area product will probably be confined to first base or DH since he's not nearly fast enough to play the outfield. Still, the bat has a chance to be good enough to profile anywhere, and if he does manage to stick behind the plate, it's a potential All Star profile. I expect he'll sign somewhere around slot value.

3-105: SS Alex Freeland, Central Florida. Unranked.
Slot value: $582,400. Signing bonus: likely around slot value.
Alex Freeland was in that next group of guys I would have added to my list if I had the bandwidth, but he's coming off a very solid sophomore season at UCF in which he hit .282/.419/.570 with eleven home runs in 42 games. With an August birthday, he's eligible this year but still younger than most other college eligible players and carries some leverage, so I don't think he'll take much of a discount if at all. Freeland is a polished switch hitter that works counts well and draws plenty of walks, also showing off some pull side power when he can get his arms extended and catch the ball out front. He did not hit well on the Cape last year (.211/.348/.250 with no home runs in 28 games) but his strong sophomore season does alleviate some of those concerns. I'm not fully convinced that the power will play up with wood, but he's young, polished, and has a good 6'2" frame to build off. The Dodgers also have a lot of success with this type of player, as they do with most types of players. Defensively, he may have to move off shortstop (especially in a system as deep as the Dodgers'), but the Southwest Florida native should be athletic enough to handle second base and third base adequately. It's a utility outlook for now, but certainly with a chance for more if he can impact the ball with wood bats the way he did in the AAC this year.

4-135: OF Nick Biddison, Virginia Tech. My rank: #175.
Slot value: $435,000. Signing bonus: likely below slot value.
Nick Biddison will follow Saige Jenco and Carson Taylor on the Blacksburg to LA pipeline, and he'll do so as the very last player to crack the public portion of my rankings this year. Biddison had an up and down career with the Hokies, earning some draft interest heading into his junior year after a strong shortened 2020 campaign, but he slumped to .235/.331/.388 as a junior and came back to school. That decision paid off, as he broke out for a .351/.434/.598 slash line with 14 home runs and 21 stolen bases while hitting atop the best lineup in the country. The Richmond-area native is a sparkplug on the field, one who can impact the game in a lot of ways. He's disciplined at the plate and makes a lot of contact, and despite his compact 5'10" frame, he has sneaky power and can hit for impact to all fields. Biddison is an above average runner as well and knows how to deploy his speed, helping him on both sides of the ball. He's as versatile as it gets, having played every position except pitcher and shortstop during his time in Blacksburg (yes, including 28 games at catcher!), but he's probably a full time outfielder for the Dodgers and that's what they drafted him as. Despite being a senior, he's young for the class and was still 21 on draft day.

5-165: SS Sean McLain, Arizona State. My rank: #218.
Slot value: $325,200. Signing bonus: likely around slot value, perhaps a bit below.
The Dodgers went local in grabbing Beckham (Tustin) High School grad Sean McLain, the younger brother of current Reds prospect Matt McLain and the older brother of highly regarded prospect and Arizona State prospect Nick McLain. Sean has been a very steady hitter for the Sun Devils over the past two seasons, hitting .328/.410/.487 with ten home runs over 113 games. He possesses a quick, compact right handed swing that sprays line drives to all fields with great consistency, helping drive high batting averages wherever he's played. For now, the power is below average and I don't think he'll ever be much of an over the fence threat, though he has been an extra base machine in Tempe with 31 doubles and four triples over the past two seasons as he consistently finds gaps. The Orange County native is fairly aggressive at the plate, but he controlled the zone better as a sophomore and I feel confident he'll handle pro pitching well. A good runner that manned shortstop for Arizona State this spring, he profiles better at second base going forward but could fill in there in a pinch. I see a classic utility profile here, one that can hit for average and make a little noise on the basepaths.

6-195: SS Logan Wagner, P27 Academy [SC]. My rank: #145.
Slot value: $253,200. Signing bonus: likely well above slot value.
For their first high school pick of the event, the Dodgers will likely go way above slot value to pull Logan Wagner away from a Louisville commitment. A Chicago-area native, he transferred down to P27 Academy in the Columbia, South Carolina area as a senior to face better competition and it paid off big time. He put up a huge senior season that had scouts rushing in to see him play, and likely would have gone a couple rounds higher if signing bonuses didn't play such a big role. A switch hitter, Wagner shows off a powerful operation from both sides with a rotational operation that sees him put loft on the ball with authority. He was a bit inconsistent last summer on the showcase circuit, but he made a lot more contact in the fall and this spring, enough for the Dodgers to feel very confident he will tap his above average power against pro pitching. As with most prep prospects, there is a lot of ceiling here as a potential every day guy that adds value to the Dodger lineup. Although he was drafted as a shortstop, he figures to slide over to third base in pro ball due to a lack of quickness, though his strong arm should help him make it work there.

7-225: SS Christopher Campos, St. Mary's. Unranked.
Slot value: $199,700. Signing bonus: likely below slot value.
The Dodgers picked up their second Southern Californian in Christopher Campos, who grew up in Hacienda Heights and attended Damien High School a little to the north in La Verne. He was a two-way guy at St. Mary's, but it looks like the Dodgers want him as a shortstop only after he hit .299/.361/.373 for the Gaels this year despite a late season slump and injury. Campos struck out in just 10% of his plate appearances this spring, making a ton of contact and making defenses worse. However, he's undersized at 5'10" and didn't make a ton of hard contact, so his production for now is very dependent on his BABIP as he also doesn't walk much. There's raw strength in there, as Campos also had a 2.16 ERA and a 23/8 strikeout to walk ratio across 16.2 innings on the mound where he ran his fastball up to 95, so he'll have the arm strength to stick on the left side of the infield. Los Angeles will work to bulk him up just a little bit so that he can hit for some impact at the big league level and really put those excellent bat to ball skills to work.

12-375: RHP Jacob Meador, Dallas Baptist. My rank: #150.
Slot value: up to $125,000. Signing bonus: probably around $125K if he signs.
Jacob Meador is not a lock to sign here (though I think it's likely), but if he does, it's a very interesting profile to inject into the Dodger system. Again if he does, the Dodgers have a really interesting prospect on their hands. Meador was a known commodity out of his Fort Worth-area high school, but instead opted to attend TCU and build his stock. He struggled to break through their deep pitching staff and transferred just down I-20 to Dallas Baptist, where he got the innings he was looking for but still couldn't quite put it together. In all, Meador posted a 5.24 ERA, a 1.53 WHIP, and a 91/44 strikeout to walk ratio across 68.2 innings. The 6' righty has an explosive fastball that can get up to 96 with great riding action, settling more often in the low 90's. His curveball is a true hammer, eliciting ugly chases when he's at his best, while his changeup also flashes above average on his best days. A good athlete, he has all the ingredients to turn into a real impact arm, but his command has been very inconsistent and he gets into too many hitters' counts. The Dodgers have done a great job with Nick Nastrini, a similar pick a year ago with perhaps a more extreme profile, and they have a chance to turn Meador into a solid starting pitcher if they can get him to throw more strikes. If not, he has the nasty stuff to play up in the bullpen.

13-405: OF Chris Newell, Virginia. My rank: #199.
Slot value: up to $125,000. Signing bonus: probably around $125K if he signs.
Signing bonus-wise, Chris Newell is probably in the same boat as Jacob Meador in that he'll probably sign, but on day three of the draft nothing's ever a certainty. Newell was an even better prospect than Meador out of high school, where he had a chance to go in the top one hundred picks in 2019, but elected to head down south to Virginia to build his stock further. The move initially looked like it paid off after he hit .407/.545/.729 over 18 games in his shortened freshman season, but he's been much less consistent over the past two seasons and has slashed .258/.354/.432 with a 30.6% strikeout rate in that timeframe. A very good athlete, the Philadelphia-area product flashes above average raw power that he does sometimes get to in games, including twelve home runs this past season. His hands are very quick in the box and he gets uphill in his swing to create loft, but he struggles to reach fastballs up in the zone and for now has trouble recognizing offspeed, leading to a much less refined approach at the plate than most hitters coming out of UVA. Newell is also an above average runner that will stick in center field, providing some value when his bat is cold. While he has suffered through long stretches of futility at the plate, there are also few players out there more dangerous when he's hot, and Los Angeles will hope to bring that best side out of him more often.

15-465: SS Nicolas Perez, B-You Academy [PR]. My rank: #174.
Slot value: up to $125,000. Signing bonus: likely well above $125,000 if he signs.
Nicolas Perez is less likely to sign than Meador and Newell as a high school product with a Florida State commitment in hand. If he does sign, it will be well above the $125,000 threshold for day three picks and will count against the bonus pool. Perez won't turn 18 until September, which makes him one of the youngest players picked in the entire draft. He's steadily commanded more and more attention in Puerto Rico before exploding for an excellent showing at WWBA in the fall, and the Dodgers are buying into the trajectory here. He's not huge at six feet tall, but he has room to fill out his frame and continue to add strength, which will play up because he has strong feel for the barrel as it is from a powerful right handed swing. For now, he's an aggressive hitter, but it hasn't hurt him to this point and again, he's so young that you have to expect it. He's also a solid defender at shortstop with a chance to stay there as he gets bigger, faster, and stronger, and could become an all around contributor at the next level.

2022 MLB Draft: An early look at the ACC

2021 draftees: 63. Top school: North Carolina State (8)
2021 preseason writeup (published 10/27/2020)

Top draftees:
1-1, Pirates: C Henry Davis (Louisville)
1-15, Brewers: OF Sal Frelick (Boston College)
1-24, Braves: RHP Ryan Cusick (Wake Forest)
CBA-35, Reds: C Matheu Nelson (Florida State)
2-52, Marlins: SS Cody Morissette (Boston College)
2-53, Reds: LHP Andrew Abbott (Virginia)
2-60, A's: 3B Zack Gelof (Virginia)

It was another banner year for the ACC, which saw three players drafted in the first round including first overall pick Henry Davis, and eight drafted by the end of the second competitive balance round. Every school had at least one player drafted, while five different schools (NC State, Louisville, Florida State, Clemson, and Virginia) had at least six draftees. This year already has another trio with firm first round aspirations ready to go, with quite a few more knocking on the door. While this year is more balanced than last year's hitter-heavy class, in which nine of the first eleven draftees were position players, it's hard not to notice an especially exciting group of power bats. On the mound, we'll get to watch a competition between Florida State lefties Bryce Hubbart and Parker Messick every weekend, as both have first round aspirations with Hubbart having jumped ahead on the heels of a strong summer. Below are the top ten prospects in the ACC heading into the 2022 season.

1. C Kevin Parada, Georgia Tech.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 6'1", 195 lbs. Born 8/3/2001. Hometown: Pasadena, CA.
2021: 9 HR, .318/.379/.550, 1 SB, 41/17 K/BB in 52 games.
Kevin Parada was the best position player prospect to reach campus a year ago, having ranked 47th on my 2020 draft board out of Loyola High School in Los Angeles. It's hard to reach those sky-high expectations at times, especially early on, but Parada hit the ground running in Atlanta and has only built on his stock with a massive freshman campaign. Just 52 games into his college career, he has a tough luck third team all-ACC nod (stuck behind first overall pick Henry Davis and fellow Golden Spikes candidate Matheu Nelson) as well as a Baseball America second team freshman all American nod. It's a really, really complete profile that fits right near the top of the draft, and because he's eligible as an older sophomore, he won't turn 21 until shortly after the draft and is the second youngest player on this list. Starting with the bat, Parada takes extremely professional at bats at a young age, especially shining in his ability to make adjustments and grind out at bats. Maybe you can get a pitch or two by him, but you're going to have to be perfect to finish him off. The LA product puts that approach to good use with above average power from his sturdy frame, getting to it easily and consistently with a simple but strong right handed swing that even popped a home run off second overall pick Jack Leiter in the Nashville regional. If there is one critique for Parada's offensive profile, it's that he could use to be a bit more selective at the plate and draw a few more walks, though that's really nitpicking for a 20 year old catcher who just slugged .550 in the ACC with a pretty strong 17.2% strikeout rate. Behind the plate, he faced questions as a high schooler about his ability to stick, but he's gotten much smoother back there after just one year in Atlanta and now should be at least average defensively. He's a smart player who will be able to handle the soft skills of catching in addition to the hard skills, and his strong arm helps keep the running game in check. If the draft were today, this would be a top ten profile that would come into play pretty quickly after the first couple of picks, projecting for 20+ home runs annually with good on-base percentages from a premium position. Similar production in 2022 with perhaps a few more walks could make him the first college bat off the board.

2. OF Gavin Cross, Virginia Tech.
Bat: L. Throw: L. 6'3", 210 lbs. Born 2/13/2001. Hometown: Bristol, TN.
2021: 11 HR, .345/.415/.621, 9 SB, 48/17 K/BB in 51 games.
Between Ian Seymour, Carson Taylor, Packy Naughton, and Mark Zagunis, Virginia Tech has had some moderate early round talent in recent years, but it's certainly not on par with most other ACC programs. In 2022, however, the Hokies have a chance to produce not just a first rounder, but a potential top of the draft talent in Gavin Cross. At this point, he may have the most potent bat in the country, period. Ideally built for a power hitter at 6'3", he actually reminds me of Juan Soto in a few ways, including in his frame, swing, feel for the barrel, and raw power. Coming from the base, Cross gets his barrel into the zone early and keeps it there for a long time, enabling him to make consistent contact even if his timing isn't perfect. Once he does make contact, he can and will absolutely obliterate the baseball, crushing screaming line drives with regularity. Watching him a lot in 2021, I felt like I never saw him hit a ball softly, even hitting into the most consistently loud outs of any player I saw. It's plus-plus raw power that he gets to in games, though his approach could use some work. He again reminds me of Soto in the way he locks in on pitches from the hand to the plate, but at this point, he lacks the generational discipline of his Nationals counterpart. Rather, Cross is a very aggressive hitter who tracks pitches well then unleashes on anything he likes, still making consistent contact but limiting his walks perhaps a bit more than you'd like and not always getting the pitch to drive. In the field, it's a corner outfield profile with a chance to be a solid defender in right field because of his strong left arm, but everyone knows they're drafting the bat here. I see Cross having more offensive upside than Kevin Parada, with the potential for 30+ home runs annually with high on-base percentages, though he does need to hone in that approach a bit and he won't provide nearly as much defensive value. As a Virginia Tech alum, I'm very excited to watch him go to work again this spring.

3. LHP Bryce Hubbart, Florida State.
Bat: L. Throw: L. 5'11", 190 lbs. Born 6/28/2001. Hometown: Windermere, FL.
2021: 6-5, 3.80 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 94/29 K/BB in 71 innings.
The 2022 Florida State weekend rotation will be as fun as it gets in college baseball, with lefties Bryce Hubbart and Parker Messick set to duke it out for the title of best pitching prospect in the ACC while highly regarded underclassmen Carson Montgomery and Jackson Baumeister will be among those vying for the third spot. While Messick was the team's best pitcher in 2021, it's Hubbart that has now pulled ahead as the frontrunner to be drafted first. He was strong albeit unspectacular as a sophomore this past spring, but absolutely took off in the Cape Cod League with a 0.87 ERA and a 45/8 strikeout to walk ratio over 31 innings. In fact, after allowing three runs in his first start, he locked in and allowed just one unearned run over his final five starts (spanning 27 innings) against elite competition. Hubbart sits in the low 90's with his fastball, but it's steadily creeped up and he's been showing more and more 93's, 94's, and higher as of late and has a chance to sit comfortably in the mid 90's when all is said and done. He rips off a wicked curveball that shows true plus, while his newer slider had the look of a plus pitch at its best on the Cape as well. Add in a solid changeup, and you have one of the best four pitch mixes in the country. He's variously listed between 5'11" and 6'1" depending on where you look, but regardless, he's not the most imposing presence on the mound physically. However, with long arms and legs for his size, the Orlando-area native still offers projection, while his lightning fast right arm adds to the upside. He shows solid average command most of the time, though he does a better job hitting spots with his fastball than with his offspeed stuff, the latter of which still misses plenty of bats simply due to its movement. In pro ball, hanging breaking balls get hammered even when they break like Hubbart's, so that's on the to-do list. To top it all off, he's young for the class with a June birthday, a big positive for some teams. There is serious top of the rotation upside here, and he's currently firmly in the first round picture with the chance to be the first college arm drafted if he pitches this spring like he did over the summer.

4. LHP Parker Messick, Florida State.
Bat: L. Throw: L. 6', 225 lbs. Born 10/26/2000. Hometown: Plant City, FL.
2021: 8-2, 3.10 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 126/23 K/BB in 90 innings.
Bryce Hubbart's exceptional Cape run may have vaulted him ahead for now, it's Parker Messick who has the longest track record of success in the Florida State rotation. Messick was lights out in six relief appearances as a freshman (11.2 IP, 1 ER, 19/2 K/BB) and followed that up with a great sophomore season, sandwiched around a very strong run through the Florida Collegiate Summer League in 2020. While Hubbart is projectable and looks to continue trending up, Messick is much more about the now-product and figures to stay more or less the same. That's fine, because he's already a very good pitcher. The Tampa-area product sits in the low 90's with his fastball, topping out around 93-94, but it plays up because he hides the ball well and pitches with plenty of deception. He brings a full set of secondaries led by an above average changeup, though both the curveball and slider are consistently average and flash above as well. They lack power, but they show good shape and he consistently locates them to freeze hitters or send them flailing. Messick repeats his delivery well and has the look of a durable starting pitcher, with the ceiling of a #3 guy but a very high likelihood of becoming at least a #4 or a #5. It's probably an early second round projection right now, with the chance to pitch himself into the back of the first round if he can sharpen one of his breaking balls just a little bit. Though he and Hubbart are both Florida State lefties of similar height, that's where the similarities end and opposing lineups will have to be ready for two very different, equally difficult matchups every weekend.

5. LHP Carson Palmquist, Miami.
Bat: L. Throw: L. 6'3", 175 lbs. Born 10/17/2000. Hometown: Fort Myers, FL.
2021: 1-1, 2.22 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 75/8 K/BB in 44.2 innings.
Carson Palmquist is bound to split scouts as to his upside, because the results are undeniable but there just aren't many big league starting pitchers similar to him. He's coming off an exceptional spring out of the Miami bullpen in which he allowed just 34 baserunners in 44.2 innings (that's a .202 opponents on-base percentage if you're keeping track) and continued to shine with the US Collegiate National Team over the summer, and in 2022 he seems to be a frontrunner for ACC Pitcher of the Year. A true lefty sidearmer, his fastball has been steadily ticking up, from the upper 80's when he first got to Miami to the low 90's this spring and touching as high as 96. He adds a short, plus slider that's really difficult to pick up, as well as a solid changeup. The 6'3" lefty commands everything well and dominates the strike zone, controlling at bats from start to finish and leaving hitters more than a little frustrated when they just can't track his stuff. Palmquist probably comes with the highest floor in this conference, as a lefty sidearm reliever that touches 96 with a plus slider and command is already valuable as it is, but there are questions as to his upside. He averaged roughly five outs per appearance in 2021 and never went more than three innings, and there just aren't many sidearm starting pitchers in the big league as it is. His operation is comparable to Chris Sale, but Sale is an exception, not the rule. Now, if anybody can make that uphill climb to becoming a full time MLB starter from this starting point, it's him. It will be really interesting to see how Miami handles him in 2022, and if he does pick up 60-70 innings in the Hurricanes rotation without a drop off in effectiveness, it will be a first round profile.

6. RHP Henry Williams, Duke.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 6'5", 200 lbs. Born 9/18/2001. Hometown: Darien, CT.
2021: 3-3, 3.65 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 45/10 K/BB in 37 innings.
Unlike the five names above him on this list, Henry Williams does not have a big track record either in the ACC or in summer ball. Instead, he's more of a projection play than anything else, but someone who many in the industry think is heading for a breakout in 2022. Williams only made one unsuccessful relief appearance in 2020, then was a steady member of the Duke rotation for the first month and a half of the 2021 season before going down with arm soreness in April, after which he only made one more appearance in the Knoxville regional. For now, his fastball sits in the low 90's, only topping out around 93, while his slider and changeup are solid to above average pitches but not true bat-missers yet. Projection is the name of the game, as the 6'5" righty has a ton of room to fill out his ideal pitcher's frame and figures to add significant power to his stuff. He has an extremely loose, athletic delivery that he repeats consistently, giving him above average command at a young age while simultaneously portending plenty of opportunity to add velocity as he gets stronger. The Connecticut product also gets high spin rates on all of his pitches, giving extra life to his fastball and sharpening the bite on his slider. To top it off, he's extremely young for the class and won't turn 21 until September, making him the youngest player on this list despite being a grade ahead of #1 ranked Kevin Parada. Everything in this profile, from the size and frame to the athleticism, present stuff, command, and youth, points to an ace in the making. His ceiling is as high as anybody on this list and he could be the first one drafted come next July, but projection is just projection until you actually make good on it so the to-do list is also longer than most other names here. It would be nice to see his fastball creep into that 94-95 range more often rather than sitting closer to 90, as it would be to see him get a few more whiffs on that slider, and teams will also want to see him last a full season in the Blue Devil rotation given he only has 37.2 career innings to his name. Check off those boxes and he could go in the top ten.

7. OF Dylan Brewer, Clemson.
Bat: L. Throw: L. 6'2", 180 lbs. Born 9/29/2000. Hometown: Latta, SC.
2021: 10 HR, .207/.332/.420, 6 SB, 65/29 K/BB in 49 games.
Dylan Brewer is one of the bigger boom or bust candidates in the conference. He has been very inconsistent at Clemson and struck out in 30% of his plate appearances this spring, but had a loud summer in the Coastal Plain League and slashed .350/.444/.608 while cutting his strikeout rate in half. Brewer is as tooled up as anyone in the conference, with plus raw power functioning as his carrying tool. He generates high exit velocities with long limbs and a strong frame, showing a smooth left handed hack. That swing can get long at times and he struggles with offspeed stuff, so for now the hit tool is well below average, but a patient approach and good pitch selection ability bode well for his ability to improve on it. An above average runner, he has a chance to be above average in right field and provide value on both sides of the ball. Going into 2022, scouts will be watching the swing and miss in Brewer's game closely, and if he can get his strikeout rate under 25% or so, he could go in the top two rounds. While the Coastal Plain League isn't quite the Cape, it still provides strong competition and his exceptional performance there bodes well for his ability to continue to improve as a hitter. He has power, speed, a professional approach, and is trending upward, so it's just time for those pure bat to ball skills to come around and tie the whole profile together.

8. OF Dalton Rushing, Louisville.
Bat: L. Throw: R. 5'11, 230 lbs. Born 2/21/2001. Hometown: Brighton, TN.
2021: 4 HR, .254/.342/.463, 1 SB, 21/8 K/BB in 28 games.
Louisville consistently has one of the deepest lineups in the ACC and therefore the country, so to this point, Dalton Rushing has not seen the field much. He's played just 38 games over two seasons and showed well (.269/.364/.495), but it was his time on the Cape that really boosted his stock. This summer, he hit .319/.406/.543 with seven home runs against the best competition in college baseball, and he'll hope to carry that momentum into a season where he figures to get more consistent playing time. He shows above average raw power from the left side, a product of big time strength in his compact 5'11" frame as well as a simple swing that helps him find the barrel consistently in games. As a bat-first prospect without supplemental tools, pressure will fall on his hit tool, which has been inconsistent so far. While he's never had trouble producing against any level of competition, there has always been some lingering swing and miss in his game and scouts will want to see him drop his strikeout rate preferably below 20% in 2022. Rushing is a below average athlete who will be limited to first base or left field in pro ball, so continued strikeout concerns would make some teams very wary of betting on his bat. The good news is he actually showed less swing and miss on the Cape than he did in the ACC, so he has every chance to carry that progress over to his junior season and show a bat everyone can fall in love with. There is some Zach DeLoach in this profile as a left handed hitting, bat-first prospect that didn't produce much as an underclassman before breaking out on the Cape. At best, Rushing could hit 20+ home runs per season with solid on-base percentages, so he could hit his way into the second round very easily.

9. OF Chris Newell, Virginia.
Bat: L. Throw: L. 6'3", 200 lbs. Born 4/23/2001. Hometown: Newtown Square, PA.
2021: 5 HR, .258/.336/.397, 13 SB, 75/17 K/BB in 58 games.
This profile reminds me a bit of Jeren Kendall from his Vanderbilt days, except that Chris Newell is five inches taller. Newell was an ultra talented prep coming out of the suburban Philadelphia high school ranks in 2019, where he could have cracked the top couple of rounds, but made it to campus at Virginia and promptly hit .407/.545/.729 in his abbreviated 18 game freshman season. However, after setting that extremely high bar for himself, his sophomore season was a bit more uneven and it took eight hits (including two home runs) in his final fourteen at bats to bump his final line up to .258/.336/.397. After riding that little hot stretch to salvage the season, he took that momentum into the Cape Cod League where he slashed a very respectable .256/.307/.488 with five home runs in 21 games. Newell, like Dylan Brewer above him on this list, is one of the toolsiest players in the conference, if with perhaps a bit more athleticism and a bit less power. He does show above average power from the left side, a product of the twitchy strength in his 6'3" frame and a healthy uppercut hack, and he tapped that power with wood bats on the Cape. He's a very aggressive hitter, leading to a below average hit tool and an extremely streaky bat, so that will be very important to monitor in 2022. Newell's steep swing compounds those hit tool questions as well, and he struck out in a third of his plate appearances last spring and 28% on the Cape. When he's seeing the ball well, he looks like he could fit very close to the top of the draft and at his best ranks within the top tier of prospects in this conference, but he goes through prolonged stretches where he really struggles to make an impact at the plate. He offsets those slumps a bit by providing value on defense, with plus speed and a strong arm making him an asset in center field and far and away the best defender on this list. There's more variation in this profile than most, with an easy shot at hitting himself into the first round but perhaps an equal chance he finds himself in the third or fourth round after another spring with 25%+ strikeout rates.

10. LHP Michael Prosecky, Louisville.
Bat: L. Throw: L. 6'3", 200 lbs. Born 2/28/2001. Hometown: Westchester, IL.
2021: 0-0, 8.31 ERA, 2.65 WHIP, 10/7 K/BB in 8.2 innings.
Like Chris Newell, Michael Prosecky came to campus as one of the highest rated recruits in the country. However, he's managed just 26.2 innings so far in two years at Louisville and has been wholly unremarkable, especially this spring when he allowed nearly two hits and a walk per inning. However, it looks like he found something on the Cape, where he posted a 1.61 ERA and a 30/12 strikeout to walk ratio over 22.1 innings in a long relief role, and he's carried that momentum into fall practice with reports that he's looking much better than his first two seasons. His fastball sits in the low 90's but reportedly touched 97 this fall, and he backs that up with a full arsenal. Prosecky's curveball stands out as his best secondary, an above average pitch that has gotten much more consistent, while he adds a slider and changeup that both flash above average as well. Throughout his time at Louisville, the 6'3" lefty has fluctuated between struggling to find the strike zone and getting hit hard when his pitches catch to much plate, but he has an easy, repeatable delivery that has his command trending in the right direction. It's still probably fringe average until we see him prove it more in ACC play, but it's at least a half grade better than it was a year ago and he has a chance for above average command down the line. The Chicago-area product has a lot to prove in 2022, having never completed four innings either at Louisville or on the Cape in 2021, which is why he ranks so low on this list, but that could change quickly.

Honorable mentions (with 2021 stats):
3B Luke Gold (Boston College): 9 HR, .316/.364/.576, 2 SB, 31/13 K/BB in 44 games.
LHP Nate Savino (Virginia): 3-3, 3.79 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 34/16 K/BB in 54.2 innings.
RHP Zach Maxwell (Georgia Tech): 2-2, 3.09 ERA, 1.91 WHIP, 56/41 K/BB in 32 innings.
This list is only supposed to be ten, but three players are really close in my opinion and find themselves in the same tier as Dalton Rushing, Chris Newell, and Michael Prosecky. Luke Gold flew under the radar a bit behind big 2021 bats Sal Frelick and Cody Morissette at Boston College last year, but it's his turn to continue what's shaping up to be a surprising draft dynasty in Chestnut Hill. He lacks big tools, but is simply a professional hitter that gets the job done at the plate and showed some interesting power with six home runs on the Cape (while slashing .267/.363/.523). Gold has a simple, direct right handed swing which combines with that strength to provide consistent, usual game power even if he's not battering the parking lot in batting practice, and strong feel for the barrel gets him on base very consistently. He doesn't walk much because he makes consistent contact early in the count. Defensively, he looks like a fringy second or third baseman, with first base a possibility. Nate Savino is one of the more well-known names in the conference after reclassifying out of the 2020 draft to enroll early at Virginia, though like many other Virginia pitchers lately, his progress has stalled in Charlottesville. While he's been very effective for a teenager and his fastball has hit 95, it can also sit around 90 at times. He throws an above average slider and a fringe average changeup, but together, he just hasn't missed many bats. Savino has average command, but given his extreme youth (he won't even turn 20 until January), there's a very good chance he ends up above average in that regard. The 6'3" lefty might have been a first round pick in 2020 if he hadn't reclassified, so he'll look to recapture that pedigree this spring as one of the youngest four year college players available. Lastly, Zach Maxwell has the best pure stuff in the conference, but he has also walked 57 batters in 46.1 innings at Georgia Tech so far. Maxwell is a huge 6'6", 280 pound righty with a mid 90's fastball that has touched triple digits, adding a vicious slider with spin rates near 3000 that looks like a plus-plus pitch when he locates it. At this point, he has very poor command with a jerky delivery and a lack of coordination in his massive frame, so at bats can be very uncomfortable. Barring a transformation in 2022 and having never thrown more than three innings in an appearance at Georgia Tech, it's unlikely the Atlanta-area product ever becomes a starter in pro ball, but if he can improve his command to even a 40 grade, he has closer upside. There are some shades of pre-2020 Bobby Miller here, but Maxwell has an even more extreme profile with more size and less command.

2019 Draft Review: St. Louis Cardinals

First five rounds: Zack Thompson (1-19), Trejyn Fletcher (2-58), Tony Locey (3-96), Andre Pallante (4-125), Connor Thomas (5-155)
Also notable: Pedro Pages (6-185), Jack Ralston (7-215), Alex McFarlane (25-755), Chris Newell (37-1115)

The Cardinals typically draft well, and this year was no different. They went pitching-heavy and college-heavy, taking eight pitchers with their first eleven picks and ten college players in those first eleven picks. This will replenish the pitching depth in what is currently a hitter-heavy system, as the underperformance of many of the system's better pitchers may leave Johan Oviedo, who you probably haven't heard of, as their pre-draft top pitching prospect. That's now easily Zack Thompson, and guys like Tony Locey and Andre Pallante add more depth as potential future #4 starters. Because they were able to get Thompson for $360,000 below slot, they were able to go over slot on three high schoolers and a JuCo bat on day three, helping add even more depth with this class. However, spending $400,000 against their bonus pool on those four guys will make it nearly impossible for them to sign highly regarded 25th rounder Alex McFarlane or 37th rounder Chris Newell.

1-19: LHP Zack Thompson (Kentucky, my rank: 18)
Thompson was projected to go closer to the 11-14 range, and while I wasn't quite that high on him, this is good value for the Cardinals at #19 overall, especially given that he signed for a discount. After an injury-slowed sophomore season where he posted a 4.94 ERA and a 42/20 strikeout to walk ratio, he bounced back for a huge 2019 in which he posted a 2.40 ERA, a 1.03 WHIP, and a 130/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 90 innings, including a 2.27 ERA and a 93/27 strikeout to walk ratio in the gauntlet of SEC play. Thompson is a 6'3" lefty from just outside of Muncie, Indiana armed with four good pitches, including a low 90's fastball, a slider, a curveball, and a changeup, all of which he uses to miss bats and keep hitters off balance. His command isn't pinpoint but it was a little better this year and he could easily end up becoming a mid-rotation starter, though I have a hard time seeing him become more than that because while he has a slew of good pitches, nothing stands out as a true plus. Thompson signed for $3 million, which was $360,000 below slot.

2-58: OF Trejyn Fletcher (Deering HS [ME], my rank: 79)
This move is very risky for the Cardinals, especially considering the fact that Fletcher required an overslot bonus. Fletcher is from Portland, Maine, but attended the Trinity-Pawling School in New York for his first two years of high school before transferring back to Deering High School back in Portland for his junior season. However, he was set to turn 18 in April and was therefore very old for a high school junior, so he re-classified to an age-appropriate senior in March. Because he's coming from way off the beaten prospect path in Maine and scouting directors thought they had another year to evaluate him anyways, that drove a mad rush to the far north as teams scrambled to evaluate him. As you would expect, Fletcher is extremely raw, but he's an exceptional athlete who shows power and speed to dream on. His swing needs a lot of mechanical tweaks, as he doesn't get much extension at all, but the bat is quick and produces nice raw power. His hit tool is also completely unproven, as he didn't hit particularly well in summer ball and Maine high school competition isn't exactly the toughest. Defensively, he's an asset in center field with his speed and arm strength, though he has to work on the mental/instincts portion of his game out there. Fletcher has a long, long way to go, but if all goes well, the Cardinals could turn him into an all-around impact player with power, speed, and good defense, and that's why they spent $1.5 million ($290,000 above slot) to sign him away from a strong Vanderbilt commitment.

3-96: RHP Tony Locey (Georgia, my rank: 120)
Last time, I wrote about the Mariners taking Georgia starter Tim Elliott in the fourth round, this time, I'll write about the Cardinals taking Georgia starter Tony Locey in the third round, and next year, I'll likely write about somebody taking Georgia starter Emerson Hancock in the first round and Georgia starter Cole Wilcox somewhere on Day One. Anyways, Locey has improved every year in Athens after posting a 6.38 ERA as a freshman and a 4.28 mark as a sophomore, this year going 11-2 with a 2.53 ERA, a 1.08 WHIP, and a 97/45 strikeout to walk ratio over 89 innings. He's a big guy at 6'3", 240 pounds, and he uses a mid 90's fastball that can reach higher to miss bats. He also adds a slider, a curveball, and a changeup, though the slider is the only secondary offering that will have any effectiveness in pro ball at this point. He also has fringy command, so the Cardinals will have a couple of things for him to work on if he wants to remain a starter. If he can sharpen either the curve or the changeup, he has a chance to make it as a #5 starter, and if he can sharpen both or just one plus his command, he could be a #3 or a #4 guy. However, as it stands, he carries reliever risk and could wind up as a fastball/slider bullpen guy who blows hitters away with an upper 90's fastball. One thing working in his favor is his age, as he is young for a junior and doesn't turn 21 until July. The Warner Robbins, Georgia native signed at slot for $604,800.

4-125: RHP Andre Pallante (UC Irvine, unranked)
I'm a one man crew, so I wasn't able to get to Pallante before the draft, but if I had, I think I would have ranked him above Locey. The Southern California native posted a 2.68 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and an 89/29 strikeout to walk ratio over 94 innings this year, albeit with a pitcher-friendly home park at UC Irvine. He's a smaller guy at six feet tall and has long arm action, but he's athletic and throws plenty of strikes. Stuff-wise, he sits in the low 90's with his fastball and adds three secondary pitches, though none stand out as plus. Still, he has exhibited solid pitchability and if the Cardinals can tone down his delivery just a little bit, he could easily have above average command. There's definitely reliever risk due to his lack of size, but he has some upside and could be a #3 or #4 starter. He's also very young for a college junior, not turning 21 until September, which helps his case. Pallante signed at slot for $455,600.

5-155: LHP Connor Thomas (Georgia Tech, unranked)
Two rounds after taking a South Georgia native in Georgia's Tony Locey, the Cardinals grabbed another South Georgian in Connor Thomas, who travelled from rural Tift County up to the big city at Georgia Tech. However, while Locey is a 6'3" power pitcher armed with a big fastball, Thomas is just about the opposite. This year, the 5'11" lefty posted a 3.11 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and a 103/19 strikeout to walk ratio over 113 innings, and I think the numbers tell the story. Thomas only sits in the upper 80's with his fastball, but he adds a very good slider and changeup and commands all three pitches exceptionally well from a low three quarters arm slot. As a little lefty without velocity, Thomas will have very little margin of error, but he might be just fine in that case because of that command and secondary stuff. At a skinny 5'11", he's unlikely to add too much more velocity, but if the Cardinals can get him up a tick or two to sit around 90, he could be a successful #4 or #5 starter. Otherwise, he could be a command-minded reliever. He signed at slot for $340,000.

6-185: C Pedro Pages (Florida Atlantic, unranked)
The Cardinals went for a back-up catcher here, grabbing Pedro Pages out of FAU. He's gotten better with the bat every year after slashing .243/.366/.383 as a freshman and .309/.368/.436 as a sophomore, this year slashing .310/.423/.438 with six home runs and a 45/43 strikeout to walk ratio over 60 games for the Owls. He's a good defender with a very strong arm, which means that he'll stick back there and that will take pressure off his bat. At the plate, he can produce some pull power from a swing with plenty of torque, but it doesn't show up in games all that often and he's more of an all-around average hitter. He's patient at the plate and draws a lot of walks, boosting his profile, and he projects more as a backup catcher rather than as Yadier Molina's full-time heir to the position. The Miami native signed for $250,000, which was $11,600 below slot, and he collected five hits (including two doubles) in his first nine at bats at short season State College, also adding two walks.

7-215: RHP Jack Ralston (UCLA, unranked)
While Rangers second rounder Ryan Garcia got most of the attention as UCLA's ace, it was actually Jack Ralston who led the #1 regular season team in the country in innings pitched. He came out of nowhere this year, too, as he redshirted his true freshman season in 2016, did not pitch during his redshirt-freshman season in 2017, then posted a 6.44 ERA and an 18/14 strikeout to walk ratio during his redshirt-sophomore season in 2018. Still, he was talented enough to earn a stint in the Cape Cod League, where he had a 7.11 ERA and walked six batters over 6.1 innings. However, everything clicked and then some in 2019, as the 6'6" righty posted a 2.66 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, and a 110/33 strikeout to walk ratio over 101.1 innings, including a 2.21 ERA in conference play in a tough Pac-12. He's a fastball/curveball guy with the former sitting in the low 90's and the latter being a true plus pitch, though he lacks much of a changeup. His command improved significantly this year and is now closer to average, though he still has a lot of moving parts and long arm action in his delivery. Realistically, he's probably a fastball/curveball reliever that could be very effective in short stints, though he has plenty of arm strength and projectability and the Cardinals could conceivably help him succeed as a #3 or #4 starter if a) he improves his changeup and b) he maintains the strides he has made with his command. Ralston is young for his class so despite being in his fourth year at UCLA, he doesn't turn 22 until August. He signed at slot for $204,800.

25-755: RHP Alex McFarlane (Habersham Central HS [GA], my rank: 114)
McFarlane was talented enough to go in the top five rounds, but signability away from his Miami commitment knocked him down to the 25th. He grew up in the U.S. Virgin Islands, but moved to the mountains of Northeast Georgia for his senior year of high school. McFarlane is a 6'3" righty with variable fastball velocity, sitting in the low 90's at his best but dipping to the high 80's both late in games and late in the season. His slider flashes plus at times but also lacks consistency, and he has a changeup that needs work. He is extremely athletic and has a quick arm, but he needs to get more efficient with his delivery and that in turn could help him add more power to his stuff. McFarlane, like many high schoolers, comes with a high ceiling and a low floor, and we'll likely find out more about that in Coral Gables over the next three seasons.

37-1115: OF Chris Newell (Malvern Prep HS [PA], my rank: 89)
Like McFarlane, Newell could have been a top five round or even top three round pick, but signability away from Virginia caused him to fall to the 37th. Newell is an athletic outfielder from the Philadelphia area with plenty of tools. He has an uppercut swing that produces above average power from a 6'2" frame, though he has some questions about his hit tool that will need to be addressed at the next level, which will likely be the ACC. He also has some speed and should be able to handle center field, taking some pressure off his bat. He and McFarlane will face each other in ACC play over the next three years and will be eligible again in 2022.

2019 Draft Preview: High School Outfielders

This isn't a particularly deep class of high school outfielders, with the Atlanta area usually sending us a boatload but remaining quiet this year, but once you get past the top two rounds or so, more names do start to appear. Most of the better bats in this high school draft class will be found on the infield (see Bobby Witt, Brett Baty, Rece Hinds, Tyler Callihan), but it's not empty and there certainly are some headliners.

Tier I: Riley Greene, Corbin Carroll
The two headliners in this year's high school outfield class live three thousand miles apart on perfectly opposite corners of the country, and their skill sets might be just as far apart as well. Riley Greene, playing ball in Orlando and committed to Florida, is the best pure bat in the high school class save for Witt. Greene is imposing at the plate at 6'1" and gets to his plus raw power very consistently, making him as safe a bet as any high schooler to hit in pro ball. He has a big swing, but his very good approach at the plate and hand-eye coordination help him keep his swing and miss rate low, and those two traits combined should help him grow into 25-30 home run pop in the majors. Combine that with his projected high on-base percentages, and Greene should be a solid middle of the order hitter down the road. He's just so-so in the outfield, likely ending up in left field, but he won't be a liability and the added pressure on his bat won't be an issue. He'll definitely go in the top ten picks, more than likely in the top six. Seattle native Corbin Carroll is safely behind Greene on most draft boards, but he provides a very different vision of a player. At a listed 5'11" and 160 pounds, he doesn't look like an impact hitter, but he has one of the best hit tools in the country among high schoolers with an exceptional feel for both the barrel and zone that help him get on base consistently even against high-level competition. Carroll does a good job of using his load to gain ground on the ball, allowing him to drive through the ball and giving evaluators hope that he can add power down the road as he fills out. He's a good defender in center field who should be able to stick there, with his plus speed helping him track down balls in the gaps. He looks to go somewhere in the top half of the first round, though closer to the middle than the front.

Tier II: Sammy Siani, Maurice Hampton, Jerrion Ealy, Trejyn Fletcher
If Greene and Carroll were about as different as it gets, then the four players in this tier (save for Siani) are actually pretty similar. Sammy Siani, younger brother of Reds 2018 fourth rounder Mike Siani, plays ball in Philadelphia and offers an interesting tool set. He's just 5'11" but he has a smooth, uppercut swing that could produce close to average power down the road. Despite his power-oriented swing, he actually does a very good job of getting the bat on the ball consistently and catching up to good pitching, so with less of a need to worry about his strikeout rates climbing to high, he can continue focusing on trying to drive the ball into the gaps and over fences. He's pretty good defensively so that's a slight boost, and he has a fairly wide range of outcomes due to his potential power upside. He looks like a second round pick at the moment. Over in Memphis, Maurice Hampton offers some really interesting upside with his intense athleticism (he's committed to LSU to play both baseball and football) and present tools. Hampton has a quick swing and above average raw power, though like most two-sport athletes, he needs to refine his hit tool and learn to translate his batting practice power into game power. He also needs to get a little more patient at the plate, as increasing his walk rate could help him employ that SEC cornerback speed on the bases. Defensively, that speed makes him a solid center fielder, though he's raw there as well. With an August birthday, Hampton is one of the younger players in the class. which will give him some extra time to refine his game if he chooses to give up football. He looks like he could go in the comp round, but signability will make that uncertain. Interestingly, Hampton isn't the only two-way SEC recruit this year, as Jackson, Mississippi's Jerrion Ealy is committed to Ole Miss as a running back. At 5'10" and 190 pounds, he's built like a running back, too, and that athleticism makes him a really interesting baseball prospect. Ealy hits the ball hard and showed impressive feel for the barrel over the summer, but it's been a rough spring as he has shown that he has a long way to go offensively. His mechanics need to be ironed out so that he can smooth out his swing and add loft, and given his mediocre performance this spring, he comes with a lot of risk. He's better defensively than Hampton at this point, showing a better chance to stick in center field, though he's also a full year older with an August birthday. When Hampton turns 18, he'll turn 19 less than three weeks later, and he looks more like a second or third round pick, also clouded by signability concerns. Trejyn Fletcher isn't committed to an SEC school to play football, but it's a good thing we're talking about baseball because Vanderbilt has a spot waiting for him in its dugout for next season. Despite the lack of gridiron skills, Fletcher is just as interesting as Hampton and Ealy because he reclassified from a junior to a senior this year (which would be age-appropriate for him anyways), and oh yeah, he might be the best high school baseball prospect in Maine history. The Portland native is just as raw as you would expect for a kid from what I as a Virginian consider the Arctic, showing a very choppy, short swing that won't work in pro ball. That said, he's extremely athletic and has been rising on draft boards recently, shooting up potentially into the second round, and his solid glove and strong arm will buy the bat some time to develop. He has high upside and a lot of risk, but it looks like he might get drafted early enough for a team to keep him from following the path that infielder Ryan Flaherty paved from Portland to Vanderbilt.

Tier III: Chris Newell, Trey Faltine, Glenallen Hill Jr., Joshua Mears
These four don't offer quite the upside of the previous four, or if they do, they have a bit less of a chance to get there. Chris Newell, like Siani, lives in the Philadelphia area, and he actually has a fairly similar left handed swing to him. However, while Siani is currently hit over power due to his feel for the barrel, Newell is more power over hit and is already driving the ball with more authority than Siani, at least when he gets to it. There is more swing and miss in his game, giving the uppercut less of a chance to work in pro ball, and he has a fairly similar defensive profile to his crosstown Trey Faltine has one of the more interesting profiles among the guys who aren't SEC football players, as he's probably the most versatile player in the entire class. Faltine, from the Houston area, can play any position but catcher and he's also a legitimate pitching prospect, which I'll leave for a later writeup while I throw him in the outfield group for this one. Offensively, he has a great feel for the barrel with a swing that is more geared for contact than for power, and at 6'3", he could add some power down the road. He's not exceptionally fast but he can play any position, using his instincts to perform well anywhere from shortstop to center field. Despite his feel for the game, he overall lacks the current in-game impact of some of the players ahead of him, but once he decides what position he wants to play and gives up pitching (if he ends up as a position player at all), he should be able to channel his focus into becoming a top of the order hitter with high on-base percentages, some power, and average to slightly above average speed. He looks like a third or fourth rounder at first glance but could sneak into the second round. Glenallen Hill Jr. is the son of former big leaguer Glenallen Hill, and the Santa Cruz native has used his big, powerful swing to put himself on the map as a potential power hitter despite standing just 5'9". He's not too much unlike the Rangers' Willie Calhoun in that regard, though he's faster, can switch hit, and is limited to the outfield defensively. Hill's swing is a thing of beauty, but he has struggled with contact at times and because of his size, the power plays closer to average. Those two issues combined make him more of a third or fourth round prospect, though he has some real upside if he can find a way to get to his power consistently and use his speed to play good defense in the outfield. Lastly, Seattle area-native Joshua Mears doesn't quite match his cross-town opponent Corbin Carroll, but he's got some pop coming from a 6'3", 235 pound frame. Combine that with a good swing that generates plenty of whip and loft, and that will get scouts' attention. He has some swing and miss in his game and he's mediocre defensively, but the upside at the plate if he can gain a better approach at the plate will make him a solid pick in the third or fourth rounds.

Others: Hylan Hall, Dasan Brown, James Beard, Hudson Head