2022 MLB Draft Review: Toronto Blue Jays

Full list of draftees

I have to imagine the Blue Jays are very happy with their draft class. They were often tied to South Carolina prep infielder Tucker Toman in the first round, but instead picked up arguably the best left handed pitcher in the class and still got Toman two picks later with a huge over slot bonus. This class features numerous hitters with a strong combination of plate discipline and batted ball data that could break out with tweaks to their approaches. Meanwhile, many of the pitchers in this class bring unique skill sets to the table, making this a draft with sneaky upside overall.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here. 

1-23: LHP Brandon Barriera, American Heritage HS [FL]. My rank: #17.
Slot value: $3.08 million. Signing bonus: $3.60 million ($523,100 above slot value).
The Blue Jays started it off with one of the best pitchers in the entire class, and they got him here in the back third of the first round. Brandon Barriera is an electric lefty out of South Florida with huge upside, one you absolutely want on your side. He sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and can get up to 98 with cross body angle and average life, but his best pitch is a plus slider with late, bat missing bite. Barriera also has good feel for his changeup and will work that into his repertoire more frequently as a pro, giving him a very loud three pitch mix. He stands a skinny 6'2" and does not throw with much effort, showing impressive athleticism on the mound with a quick left arm. He pounds the strike zone and loves to go right after hitters, pitching with a chip on his shoulder and giving scouts reason to laud his competitive demeanor on the mound. Together, it's a really fun profile that could move relatively quickly for a high school pitcher, which does admittedly set the bar low, and he could get an especially quick start to his pro career because he intentionally shut down his senior season at American Heritage High School early to prepare for the draft. Originally committed to Vanderbilt, it took a large over slot bonus to keep him away from campus.

2-60: SS Josh Kasevich, Oregon. My rank: #72.
Slot value: $1.22 million. Signing bonus: $1 million ($216,700 below slot value).
Toronto may have saved some money in the second round, but they still managed to pick up a very interesting player in Josh Kasevich. Kasevich has been an extremely steady contributor for Oregon over the past two seasons, slashing a combined .317/.389/.445 with eleven home runs and a 40/47 strikeout to walk ratio over 116 games. He's extremely disciplined in the box and makes a ton of contact, employing an all fields, line drive approach that led to a minuscule 5.8% strikeout rate in 2022. It's a plus pure hit tool that never produced a ton of extra impact beyond a barrage of singles in Eugene, with 34 extra base hits over the past two seasons in those 116 games. However, the San Francisco Bay Area native has some interesting traits under the surface, with quick hands and a lean, 6'2" frame that regularly produce high exit velocities and can help him run into some power when he turns on one. Scouts have wanted to see Kasevich try to turn on and lift more balls in 2022, which he did a bit at the outset of the season, but he reverted back to his typical contact-oriented ways as the season wore on. Given the plus bat to ball skills and feel for the barrel, the Blue Jays could try to get him back on that path of trying to do more damage at once without sacrificing much in the way of on-base percentage, even if it's not really his game for now. It will be interesting to see which direction he develops and what kind of player he becomes, but even now the offensive package is very good as a high average, high on-base guy. The bat looks even better considering his defense, as he brings very strong instincts and body control to the shortstop position despite lacking explosive speed. If he moves off shortstop eventually, he could be a plus defender at second or third base.

2C-77: SS Tucker Toman, Hammond HS [SC]. My rank: #42.
Slot value: $846,900. Signing bonus: $2 million ($1.15 million above slot value).
The Blue Jays were heavily linked to Tucker Toman at pick #23, but ultimately could not pass up a shot at one of the best arms in the class in Brandon Barriera. Toman was surprisingly still available when they picked again at #60, but they knew they had to go more than half a million dollars above slot value to wrangle Barriera so they saved some money with Josh Kasevich. Though they were still about $300,000 in the hole when their third pick rolled around at #77, the opportunity to snag one of their favorite prep bats here was too much to pass up and they wound up handing him top 40 money to keep him from an LSU commitment. Toman is coming off a big senior season in which he showed off his above average power very consistently in games, pushing himself up boards in the process. A switch hitter, he takes big, powerful hacks from both sides of the plate with strong barrel accuracy that enables him to lift the ball with authority, though his left handed swing is a bit smoother and more explosive than his right handed swing. The Columbia, South Carolina native has a good eye at the plate as well, though he can get a little pull happy at times, but overall takes good at bats. It's a strong all around offensive profile that could wind up with above average power and above average hit in time, translating to 20-25 home runs a year with strong on-base percentages at peak. Drafted as a shortstop, he's more strong than quick and will fit better in a corner, with third base the best case scenario but possibly first base or a corner outfield spot. That puts pressure on the bat, which shouldn't be a problem.

2C-78: 2B Cade Doughty, Louisiana State. My rank: #61.
Slot value: $833,600. Signing bonus: $833,600.
Cade Doughty is a really interesting pick here, one with some sneaky upside. He's been well known to area scouts for a long time, having earned serious draft interest as a Louisiana high schooler before matriculating to LSU. He continually raised his stock in Baton Rouge, and midway through the 2022 season he was looking like a first rounder. However, an extended slump from mid April to mid May dented his stock, and a crowded field of college bats in the back of the first round/second round range pushed him further down boards. The final result was a .298/.393/.567 slash line with 15 home runs and a 49/29 strikeout to walk ratio over 59 games, a line salvaged by a strong showing at the Hattiesburg Super Regional. Doughty is a very professional hitter that likes to swing the bat, but still makes a ton of hard contact with an all-fields approach. He's not a slugger, but there's at least average raw power in the tank and it plays to all fields, so when he's going right, he's an extremely valuable all-around hitter. The Baton Rouge-area product got away from his approach a bit in 2022 and may have swung for the fences a bit too much, so his contact rates dropped and his already aggressive approach began to play down. Pessimists see a guy with average power and average hit, but the Blue Jays likely believe in that above average hit, above average power guy that Doughty was for much of his time with LSU. Defensively, he's seen time at both second and third base (more second in 2022), showing well at both with solid if unspectacular arm strength and range. If he can get back to using the whole field and trusting his power to come naturally, he'll be a very productive hitter in Toronto for a long time.

3-98: OF Alan Roden, Creighton. My rank: #140.
Slot value: $623,500. Signing bonus: $497,500 ($126,000 below slot value).
Toronto saved a little more money here with one of the more interesting senior signs in the class. Alan Roden will go from the Bluejays of Creighton to the Blue Jays of Toronto, coming off a massive senior season in Omaha in which he slashed .387/.492/.598 with four home runs and an 8/29 strikeout to walk ratio over 49 games. Yep, you read that right, that's an OBP near .500 with just eight strikeouts the entire season, good for the lowest strikeout rate (3.3%) of any player on my draft board. He's an old school hitter that sets up in a crouch, keeping his eyes on plane with the baseball and picking it up extremely well out of the pitcher's hand. If it's high, he'll get his hands up to hit and drive it, and if it's low, he'll drop down and go with it. He didn't hit for much power this year playing in pitcher-friendly Charles Schwab Field, home of the College World Series, instead employing a contact-oriented, line drive approach that regularly sent the ball deep into the gaps for 25 doubles and two triples this year. However, much like Josh Kasevich a round earlier, there is some sneaky power here because Roden regularly posts high exit velocities due to finding the barrel so frequently. As a senior sign that already turned 22 before the season started, I'm not sure how much loft you're going to add to the swing especially given his setup and approach, so Kasevich's power may be more attainable. The Madison, Wisconsin-area native also did not hit for much impact in the Cape Cod League this summer leading up to the draft (.212/.373/.288), though he did keep his strikeout rate down at a very strong 8.4% while walking 10.8% of the time against elite pitching. Drafted as an outfielder, he played a lot of first base at Creighton and won't provide much value on that side of the ball, likely landing in left field long term. Roden should move quickly through the minors with an extremely advanced bat and could be one of the first hitters to reach the majors from this class, with a likely platoon projection.

5-158: LHP Mason Fluharty, Liberty. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $347,000. Signing bonus: $222,500 ($124,500 below slot value).
You don't see many baseball players from Slower Lower Delaware, but when you do, they usually come out of Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes. Mason Fluharty teamed with future UVA stars Zack and Jake Gelof for the Vikings, and like the Gelof brothers, he came to the state of Virginia for college. In 2022 he was very strong out of the Liberty bullpen with a 2.84 ERA and an 83/10 strikeout to walk ratio over 50.2 innings. It's one of the more unorthodox profiles in the class, as his narrow arsenal really operates more on a spectrum rather than as individual pitches. Working with a closed off delivery from the extreme first base side of the rubber, he puts about as much angle on his pitches as you can possibly get while also hiding the ball really well especially from right handed hitters. From there, he cuts his "pitch" to give it even more glove side movement in addition to the angle already on it. That "pitch" fluctuates between cut fastball and slider traits depending on what he needs, getting into the low 90's when he wants to sacrifice movement for velocity and but showing a ton of sweep when it's thrown more as a traditional slider. There is an old cartoon about a pitcher from a hundred years ago that I believe was referencing Grover Cleveland Alexander, and it's killing me that I can't find it, in which a slider just keeps sweeping and sweeping until it literally chases the batter out of the batter's box back to the dugout. That's what Fluharty's slider is like with its combination of angle and sweep. The 6'2" lefty is a good strike thrower to boot, but given the two pitch (one malleable pitch?) profile, he's probably destined for the bullpen in pro ball. The Blue Jays may want to help him add a changeup or at least another variation of his fastball that can run to the arm side and keep hitters from sitting on his cutter and slider, and overall I'm curious to see how this works out against more advanced hitters.

7-218: 1B Peyton Williams, Iowa. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $210,500. Signing bonus: $197,500 ($13,000 below slot value).
Toronto picked up a big power bat in the seventh round. Peyton Williams has gotten better and better every year at Iowa, culminating in a huge junior season where he slashed .335/.464/.622 with 13 home runs and an even 35/35 strikeout to walk ratio over 54 games. He's a very big guy at a listed 6'5", 255 pounds, and he channels that strength into an extremely powerful left handed hack that can really blast the ball. Williams likes to use the whole field and doesn't loft the ball as often as perhaps he should, but that may be a relatively easy fix in pro ball as the Blue Jays tinker with his approach to get him to turn on it more. He also does not strike out much with a disciplined approach at the plate, giving him a very well rounded profile in the box that should move relatively quickly. The Des Moines-area native is very limited defensively as you can imagine by his size, with below average speed that will really only play at first base. If Williams can learn to turn on the ball more consistently without sacrificing contact, he could crack it as a power hitting first baseman in the mold of a left handed C.J. Cron at his ceiling.

9-278: RHP Devereaux Harrison, Long Beach State. My rank: #171.
Slot value: $158,600. Signing bonus: $122,500 ($36,100 below slot value).
I'm very interested in this pick. Devereaux Harrison was very good over his first two years at Long Beach State, where he put up a 1.50 ERA and a 60/18 strikeout to walk ratio over 48 combined innings, but he took a big step back in 2022 with a 6.15 ERA and a 32/17 strikeout to walk ratio in 33.2 innings mostly out of the Dirtbag bullpen. A 20.8% strikeout rate out of the bullpen isn't exactly what you look for in a pro prospect especially when it's combined with a 6.15 ERA, a 1.57 WHIP, and an 11% walk rate, but there are some interesting traits underneath. Harrison sits in the low 90's with his fastball and gets up into the mid 90's, but when he's going right, the pitch plays up with huge ride up in the zone. He flashes an above average slider at his best, but it's very inconsistent in its shape and velocity and can often look below average. There's a changeup in there, but it's not one of his main weapons. Always a bit iffy on the command, the Northern California native really struggled in that regard in 2022 and too often would fall behind in the count and groove pitches that got crushed. The Blue Jays will look to work off that explosive fastball and get him much more consistent with his slider, but perhaps the biggest asset available to them will be his athleticism. The 6' righty gets down the mound extremely well with a flexible, explosive lower half, and personally I think that combined with the life on his pitches is reason enough to take a shot on him and see what you can do. It's almost certainly a bullpen profile going forward given his smaller frame, long arm action, and general inconsistency, but it could be a very good one if the Blue Jays do this right.

18-548: LHP Jérémy Pilon, Ecole Secondaire de Montagne HS [QC]. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: up to $125,000. Signing bonus: did not sign.
There isn't much information out there about Jérémy Pilon, but I want to give him his due as a Canadian drafted by the Blue Jays. Pilon grew up in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield on Grand Ile, about thirty miles southwest of Montreal, and played at Ecole Secondaire de Montagne which it looks like is in the northeastern Montreal suburb of Bucherville. A member of Team Canada, he was the youngest player in the entire draft at just 16 years old, not even turning 17 until September. The 6' lefty sits around 90 with his high spin fastball and drops in a curveball with impressive depth as well as a changeup, leaning back in his delivery a bit like Tim Lincecum. Pilon completed high school not one but two years early, which is why he's getting drafted at such a young age, and to this point I actually don't believe he's committed to play anywhere in college yet. It looks like he'll continue working with Team Canada and with the Académie de Baseball du Canada, where he'll look to fill out a bit and get stronger before hopefully pushing himself into the top five rounds, whether that be again next year or in a few years after college ball.

20-608: OF Gregory Pace, Edison HS [MI]. My rank: #173.
Slot value: up to $125,000. Signing bonus: did not sign.
As with Jérémy Pilon, Gregory Pace did not sign here, but I do know a lot more about him. In fact, I'm very intrigued by Pace's upside. A product of Detroit Edison Public School Academy in inner-city Detroit, he's an exceptional athlete with huge upside if developed right. For now, he stands out for plus-plus speed that makes him a weapon in center field and on the basepaths, but he's more than a speedster. He comes with an extremely projectable 6'3" frame with a ton of twitchy strength, and he was still just 17 years old on draft day to boot. As Pace fills out, he'll almost certainly start to tap more power from the right side, where he shows quick hands and a line drive approach. He hasn't performed well against high-octane stuff and his swing can get grooved, so the hit tool will need just as much refinement as the power will, and there is a lot of work to be done. In addition to his blazing speed, Pace has also touched 90 on the mound, so the defensive outlook already has a very high floor. I believe given his youth, frame, and cold weather background, he'll become the next great outfielder to come out of that University of Michigan program that has recently churned out Clark Elliott, Jordan Nwogu, Jordan Brewer, and Jesse Franklin. He may not make an impact right away as a freshman, but look out come 2024 and 2025.

2022 MLB Draft: an early look at mid-majors (west)

2021 draftees: 76. Top schools: Dallas Baptist/San Diego State/Tulane (5).
2021 preseason writeup (published 1/22/2021)

Top draftees:
1-5, Orioles: OF Colton Cowser (Sam Houston State)
1-18, Cardinals: RHP Michael McGreevy (UC Santa Barbara)
2-67, Angels: LHP Ky Bush (Saint Mary's)
CBB-71, Padres: LHP Robert Gasser (Houston)
3-81, Mets: RHP Dominic Hamel (Dallas Baptist)
3-96, Braves: LHP Dylan Dodd (Southeast Missouri State)

Just like in the east, the western mid majors have a strong candidate to go first overall in Cal Poly shortstop Brooks Lee, rivaling James Madison's Chase DeLauter on the other side of the country. However, at this point it's really Lee running the show in the west with no other prospects looking like clear-cut first rounders, with the next group of prospects looking to go more in the second to third round range with questions surrounding power output for the hitters and ability to stick in the rotation for the pitchers. Below, we'll look at the top ten for the 2022 draft.

1. SS Brooks Lee, Cal Poly.
Bat: B. Throw: R. 6'2", 205 lbs. Born 2/14/2001. Hometown: San Luis Obispo, CA.
2021: 10 HR, .342/.384/.626, 3 SB, 34/18 K/BB in 55 games.
Brooks Lee, the son of Cal Poly head coach Larry Lee, was a very well-known prospect coming out of San Luis Obispo High School back in 2019 and had a chance to go in the the top two rounds had he been signable. Instead, he was the fourth best prospect to reach campus behind three SEC-bound stars in Vanderbilt's Jack Leiter, Florida's Hunter Barco, and LSU's Maurice Hampton. He barely got to play in 2020 when the COVID shutdown came down just as he was returning from hamstring surgery, but he set the league on fire with a huge sophomore season with a .342/.384/.626 line in 55 games. Seeing time with both the Collegiate National Team and in the Cape Cod League over the summer, he was exposed to some of the top amateur pitchers in the country and thrived to the tune of a .375/.405/.600 line with seven home runs in 32 games, leaving no doubt that the bat is for real. Lee employs an extremely aggressive approach at the plate, swinging at almost everything he considers hittable. For the vast majority of players, that kind of free swinging mentality would lead to high strikeout rates and ugly K/BB ratios (think Javier Baez), but it actually works extremely well in this case because his feel for the barrel is perhaps unparalleled in college baseball. It doesn't matter what he's up against, velocity, quality breaking stuff, in the zone, out of the zone, whatever, Lee is going to see it, hit it, and hit it hard. He's not just a slap hitter, either, with plus raw power that he taps in games, with wood bats, and against quality competition, coming from a sturdy 6'2" frame that should continue to add strength in pro ball. A switch hitter, he's been known for his choppy swing since high school, though despite its optics he's direct to the ball and can effectively catch pitches out in front to drive them to all fields. Lee plays shortstop for now and his instincts help him perform well at the position, but he's a fringy runner and his lack of range might push him to third base in the long run, where he'll still be a net-positive defensively. Headed into pro ball, he has a very complete profile that figures to hit 20-30 home runs a year with high on-base percentages, though he'll have to cut back just a little bit on his tendency to expand the zone because he won't always be able to get away with chasing  like he does against college pitching. For now, he's in play right at the start of the draft and should be a lock for the first round if he even comes close to matching his strong 2021 season.

2. OF Jace Grady, Dallas Baptist.
Bat: B. Throw: R. 5'10", 185 lbs. Born 5/25/2001. Hometown: Elgin, TX.
2021: 4 HR, .337/.417/.534, 15 SB, 33/23 K/BB in 49 games.
Jace Grady did not reach campus at Dallas Baptist with nearly as much fanfare as Brooks Lee, but after hitting just .187/.295/.237 in the shortened 2020 season, he's been trending straight up. Grady was an integral piece of the Patriots' super regional team, hitting .337/.417/.534 with 15 stolen bases in 49 games, then he took it to another level by slashing .348/.383/.596 with six home runs in 22 games on the Cape. Previously regarded as a potential fourth outfielder who could spray line drives around the field, his power surge against elite competition over the summer added a whole new ceiling to the profile. He's a patient hitter that doesn't chase much, but he still rarely strikes out or walks because when he does get his pitch, he rarely misses it and makes consistent hard contact to all fields. "All fields" can at times be associated with a slap-heavy approach, but Grady is not afraid to turn on the ball and shows some solid pop to the pull side. The Austin-area native runs well enough to stick in center field, giving him a really nice all around profile. Evaluators will want to see him tap that power consistently throughout the 2022 season to feel comfortable popping him in the top fifty or so picks, but if he can continue to show enough juice to profile for perhaps 10-15 home runs a year to go along with his high on-base percentages, he could knock on the door of the first round. For now, he probably fits better in the second or early third, with the fact that he's relatively young for the class working in his favor.

3. SS Andrew Pintar, Brigham Young.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 6'2", 190 lbs. Born 3/23/2001. Hometown: Spanish Fork, UT.
2021: 9 HR, .333/.433/.556, 4 SB, 29/32 K/BB in 48 games.
Brigham Young has not had a player drafted in the top five rounds since 2013, when the Cubs took Jacob Hannemann in the third round, and 6th rounder Jackson Cluff (2019) marks the only Cougar to go in the top ten rounds since then. There is a good chance that changes in 2021 with Andrew Pintar and Cy Nielson looking to be two of the best prospects BYU has had in a long time, though Nielson has significant relief risk and Pintar is, for now, clearly the better prospect. Pintar hit .302/.381/.358 as a freshman then added power to his game in 2021 with a monster .333/.433/.556 line, ending the season especially hot with eleven multi-hit games over his final fourteen. He has some of the stronger plate discipline in the west and selects good pitches, leading to high on-base percentages and low strikeout rates. He loves to get his arms extended and because of that has power to all fields, not just to the pull side, with impressive exit velocities to boot and a chance for above average power in pro ball. Together, that gives the Salt Lake City-area native the projection of 15-20 home runs a year with high on-base percentages at his peak, a very favorable offensive profile especially at shortstop. He'll likely stick there with strong feel for the position that makes up for his average physical tools, giving him an extremely well-rounded game. You won't find many plus tools in Pintar's arsenal, but he has a very strong chance to work his way up as a consistently solid regular who will help the team out in a lot of ways. For now, that's a second to third round projection, but teams love polished college hitters that can stick at shortstop and Pintar fits.

4. SS Jordan Sprinkle, UC Santa Barbara.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 5'10", 170 lbs. Born 3/6/2001. Hometown: Palm Springs, CA.
2021: 7 HR, .353/.402/.536, 26 SB, 39/14 K/BB in 58 games.
Jordan Sprinkle is a favorite among West Coast area scouts, coming off a huge sophomore season (.353/.402/.536) and following that up with a very respectable run with both the Collegiate National Team and in the Cape Cod League (combined .276/.348/.362 in 19 games). He makes a ton of contact from the right side, spraying line drives around the field and looking unfazed for the most part against elite pitching over the summer, though he did strike out in over 30% of his plate appearances after posting a 14.9% rate for UCSB. Sprinkle also shows some ambush power and runs into his fair share of home runs due to the high volume of hard hit balls he produces, though again, that power did not show up with wood bats over the summer as he ended with four extra base hits (no home runs) in those 19 games. At a skinny 5'10", he'll likely always be hit over power, and on the docket for 2022 will be drawing a few more walks and maintaining that 45 grade power projection. The Southern California native has a very favorable defensive outlook with plus speed that gives him great range at shortstop, with plenty of arm strength to help him not just stick there but thrive. The overall package reminds me a bit of Jose Torres, who went to the Reds in the third round last year out of NC State and had a very strong debut in the low minors (.333/.387/.590 in 28 games). The very strong glove will buy his bat plenty of time to adjust to pro pitching and if the power never comes along, his bat to ball skills will make him a valuable utility infielder at the least. I see him fitting in the third or fourth round for now with a chance to work his way up this spring.

5. RHP Troy Melton, San Diego State.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 6'4", 190 lbs. Born 12/3/2000. Hometown: Anaheim, CA.
2021: 4-5, 6.14 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 83/30 K/BB in 73.1 innings.
Troy Melton was draft-eligible last year, but because he was one of the youngest players in the class and didn't quite live up to expectations, he returned to San Diego State and will still be younger than many first-time eligible players this year including four of the next five players on this list. Relatively new to pitching, he looked strong in the COVID-shortened 2020 season (3.22 ERA, 26/9 K/BB in 22.1 IP) and was tabbed as a breakout candidate heading into 2021. While he did make 15 starts and threw over 70 innings in the Aztec rotation, the results themselves were somewhat pedestrian and he was more hittable than expected. Heading into 2022, evaluators are hoping his youth, projection, and increased experience will help him turn the corner and finally have that breakout season. The 6'4" righty sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball, scraping the upper 90's at his best and playing up due to his lower release point and good extension. He adds a full arsenal of secondary pitches led by a sweepy slider in addition to more of a get-me-over curveball and changeup. He pounds the zone with strikes, but his lack of a putaway offspeed pitch left him vulnerable to hard contact when his pitches caught too much plate. In 2022, Melton will want to take a step forward with one or more of those offspeeds to keep hitters off his fastball and get away with more location misses, in which case he could really move up boards in a hurray. Scouts already love the athleticism and projection in his frame, and there is plenty of starter upside here if things break right. He ranked #163 on my 2021 list and hasn't seen his stock move much since, so right now it's a middle-of-day-two projection that will likely change significantly before draft day.

6. RHP Devereaux Harrison, Long Beach State.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 6', 190 lbs. Born 11/8/2000. Hometown: Vacaville, CA.
2021: 3-1, 1.57 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 42/12 K/BB in 34.1 innings.
In Devereaux Harrison, we already have an early submission for the all-name team. He's seen nothing but success in two seasons out of the Long Beach State bullpen, putting together a 1.50 ERA and a sharp 60/18 strikeout to walk ratio over 48 innings, often working two, three, or even four innings at a time. His live right arm earned him brief stints with both the Collegiate National Team and Wareham in the Cape Cod League, and now heading into the 2022 season he's one of the more interesting pitchers on the West Coast. Harrison sits in the low 90's with his fastball and regularly peaks into the mid 90's, and the pitch plays up significantly because he generates exceptional ride to the arm side. His secondaries, namely a slider and changeup, are more of a work in progress, with the slider varying considerably in its quality but flashing above average at its best and the changeup existing really to give hitters another look. The 6' righty isn't huge but he's cleaned up his delivery significantly since getting to Long Beach and is throwing more strikes, though his long arm action still causes some inconsistency in his release point. At this point, he probably projects more as a reliever due to the fact that he's mostly a two pitch guy for now that hasn't been stretched out and struggles with inconsistency at times, though he has a whole spring to show evaluators he can start. If the Northern California native can successfully transition to the rotation this spring and maintain his high octane stuff, he could jump quickly into the top two to three rounds, but college relievers have a very checkered track record in pro ball and it might be more of a middle-of-day-two projection if he can't shed that profile.

7. RHP Jacob Meador, Dallas Baptist.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 5'11", 170 lbs. Born 10/26/2000. Hometown: Burleson, TX.
2021: 1-1, 5.68 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 24/11 K/BB in 19 innings.
Jacob Meador is just about as DFW as it gets, having grown up in Burleson in the far southwestern corner of the Metroplex, pitching two years at TCU in Fort Worth, and now transferring across the Mid Cities to Dallas Baptist. Meador has always possessed great stuff and he stood out for just that with the Horned Frogs but a combination of poor command and a deep pitching staff meant he never really got the chance to settle in with consistent innings. However, he spent the summer with Yarmouth-Dennis in the Cape Cod League and shined, pitching to a 3.62 ERA and, most importantly, a nice 34/8 strikeout to walk ratio over 27.1 innings. Now he'll hope that he can continue to combine his high octane stuff with newly found command to fully turn the corner at DBU. Meador sits in the low 90's with his fastball but has touched the upper 90's, once reportedly getting as high as 99, while adding a slider and changeup that are both devastating when they're on. Unfortunately he rarely has everything working at once, and for much of his career his command has been well below average. The 5'11" righty moves very well on the mound and is trending hard in the right direction, and if the change of scenery is enough to help him put it all together, he has the talent to go in the top couple of rounds. His stock could move in any number of directions this spring depending on how his command and offspeed stuff looks, but there's an up arrow next to his name and a lot of area scouts are rooting for the guy they saw on the Cape to show up this spring. If he does, there is mid-rotation starter upside.

8. RHP Drew Thorpe, Cal Poly.
Bat: L. Throw: R. 6'4", 190 lbs. Born 10/1/2000. Hometown: Washington, UT.
2021: 6-6, 3.79 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 104/38 K/BB in 90.1 innings.
Drew Thorpe does not have the flashiest stuff on this list, but he's been as dependable as they come for Cal Poly and in two seasons has a very respectable 3.65 ERA and a 135/45 strikeout to walk ratio over 118.1 innings, beginning with seven innings of two run ball against reigning national champion Vanderbilt in his very first collegiate outing. Thorpe pitched for the Collegiate National Team this summer and was roughed up to the tune of eleven runs on nineteen hits in eight innings, but he righted the ship a bit in the Cape Cod League with just one earned run over ten innings, including nine strikeouts. The 6'4" righty sits in the low 90's with his fastball, topping out at 95 over the summer but lacking big life on the pitch. He flips in a fringy, get-me-over curveball but really lives by his plus changeup, and he works through that three pitch arsenal very effectively in games. With a sturdy frame and an easy, repeatable delivery, he has the look of a workhorse starter that could give a major league team 180+ innings a year (that's a workhorse these days) while avoiding trips to the injured list or bouts of wildness. To reach that #4 starter ceiling, however, he'll have to improve that breaking ball to at least an average pitch so he can more effectively get to his changeup and put hitters away, and we saw with the CNT what happens when advanced hitters are able to sit on pitches. Given his gamer profile, it seems like a good bet he'll be able to figure something out with that breaking ball, and if he doesn't he probably profiles as a long reliever. It's the most complete starting pitcher profile on this list, though that doesn't necessarily mean "high floor" just because a consistent starting pitcher that tops out in AA/AAA provides the exact same amount of value as a guy who flames out throwing poorly-aimed 100 in Low A.

9. RHP William Kempner, Gonzaga.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 6', 220 lbs. Born 6/1/2001. Hometown: San Jose, CA.
2021: 3-3, 3.10 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 34/29 K/BB in 40.2 innings.
It's November so naturally Spokane is in full basketball mode, but the Gonzaga baseball team has a pair of interesting pitching prospects in William Kempner and Gabriel Hughes. Kempner is probably just a little bit ahead of Hughes in terms of prospect status for now, coming off a strong summer in the Alaska Baseball League in which he averaged nearly six innings per start and posted a strong 2.87 ERA and a 44/11 strikeout to walk ratio over 40.2 innings. He stands out first and foremost for having one of the better fastballs in the class, a low to mid 90's offering that can touch 98 in relief and which comes in with tremendous running life to the arm side, somewhat similar to former Oklahoma pitcher and Red Sox seventh rounder Wyatt Olds last year. He also adds a solid slider that can flash above average at its best but which can sometimes lack bite, while his above average changeup plays really nicely from his wide, low three quarters arm slot. The 6' righty has a sturdy build and has shown that he can handle a starter's workload, but his below average control and unique operation likely push him to the bullpen long term where his stuff should tick up. That likely limits his draft ceiling a bit, but there are plenty of teams actively searching for data-rich pitchers who can provide a unique look they can play with, and Kempner certainly fits that profile. Depending how his control looks in 2022 and how many bats he can miss (his 18.3% strikeout rate was just a bit lower than you'd like to see in 2021), we'll see how just enticing the profile ends up looking.

10. C Nate Rombach, Dallas Baptist.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 6'4", 225 lbs. Born 11/26/2000. Hometown: Mansfield, TX.
2021: 9 HR, .222/.359/.521, 0 SB, 47/25 K/BB in 40 games.
If you look at Nate Rombach's career, you'll really see a story of two different players. He hit .333/.453/.750 with nine home runs over his first 25 games, spanning his shortened freshman season with the first six games of 2021, but his production fell off a cliff once the calendar turned to March and he hit just .106/.268/.242 over his next 24 games with a staggering 39% strikeout rate. Fortunately, Rombach started to bust out of that slump and homered in three straight games against Kansas, Baylor, and TCU in late May, then hit .298/.417/.394 over the summer in the California Collegiate League. So, after all of that, we're left with the question of who is the real Nate Rombach? He's a big, physical catcher at 6'4" with plus raw power from the right side, which he gets to in games when he's going right. I was in attendance for game #21 of that hot stretch to start his career, where he took eventual first round pick Gunnar Hoglund deep on a 93 MPH fastball and later produced very hard hit balls against a hard Hoglund slider and a slow Austin Miller curveball in the same game. He's patient in the box, but he doesn't always have the bat to ball skills to be successful in those deep counts and often came away on the losing end, especially during his slump. It may be a case of finding a balance in his two strike approach between toning down his big, powerful swing and still wanting to do damage. He'll likely always be power over hit, though if he can stick behind the plate, there is enough upside in the bat to be excited. Hopefully a change of scenery to Dallas Baptist near his hometown of Mansfield (where he'll team up with fellow transfer and #7 on this list Jacob Meador, who grew up one town over) will help him put it all together. Behind the plate, Rombach is a bit rough around the edges, but he's a big target back there and his cannon arm helps make back some of that value. With robo umps likely coming in the near future, he has a better chance to remain a catcher than he might have a few years ago. He's also known to have a strong work ethic, which will obviously benefit him on both sides of the ball.