2022 MLB Draft Review: St. Louis Cardinals

Full list of draftees

The Cardinals stayed on brand in this class, leaning heavily on college pitching and in fact beginning their draft with three consecutive college lefties. It's a mix of pitchability types with guys who show unique traits on the mound, giving them a nice mix of guys who could race to the majors and others with upside that can be unlocked with patience and creativity. There is also a distinctly California feel here, with nine of their twenty picks hailing from the Golden State including each of those three college lefties at the top of the draft.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.

1-22: LHP Cooper Hjerpe, Oregon State. My rank: #19.
Slot value: $3.18 million. Signing bonus: $3.18 million.
Despite not picking until #22, I think the Cardinals picked up the best college pitcher in the draft here. Cooper Hjerpe steadily improved throughout his time in Corvallis and was at his best in 2022, when he put up a 2.53 ERA and a 161/23 strikeout to walk ratio over 103.1 innings. Those 161 strikeouts led the country by a full dozen ahead of Yankees second rounder Drew Thorpe (149), he'll continue that in pro ball. Hjerpe sits in the low 90's with his fastball and gets up to 95-96, but the pitch plays way above its velocity because it comes from such a unique angle. It's a very low three quarters look, nearly sidearm, coming in with a tremendously flat approach angle that is very difficult to mimic with plenty of bat missing ride. It plays extremely well off his slider, which comes in with huge sweep from that low slot, again not something you see every day to that degree. The small town Californian finishes off his arsenal with an above average changeup, giving him the necessary weapons to combat both left handed and right handed batters with success. To top it off, Hjerpe shows above average command of his three pitches that really enables him to play them off each other and execute the game plan, something that will make him very fun to develop for St. Louis. The 6'3" lefty still has some projection remaining, so if the Cardinals can help him add a tick or two of velocity, he could be a true ace. I really like this pick in this organization, and even if Hjerpe sticks around his current velocity band, he looks to be a high probability mid-rotation starter. It's a great combination of ceiling and floor.

2-59: LHP Brycen Mautz, San Diego. My rank: #99.
Slot value: $1.25 million. Signing bonus: $1.10 million ($146,200 below slot value).
The Cardinals saved some money on Brycen Mautz, who feels like a very Cardinals-esque pick. He's coming off a breakout year at San Diego where he put up a 3.87 ERA and a 122/29 strikeout to walk ratio over 90.2 innings, punctuated by a strong start against Vanderbilt at the Corvallis Regional with a lot of eyes on him. You can attempt to handicap those numbers by saying he didn't pitch in a power conference (and you'd be missing the fact that the WCC has strong competition), but in addition to his great start against Vanderbilt he also showed very well in non-conference matchups against Oregon and Grand Canyon and also struck out fifteen against Dallas Baptist. He sits in the low 90's with his fastball, getting up to 96 much like Hjerpe, albeit without the same unique traits. He drops in an above average slider with some sweep as his primary offspeed pitch, while also showing a fringier curveball and changeup on occasion. The 6'3" lefty comes from a wide three quarters slot that puts some angle on the ball, and overall he's cleaned up his delivery significantly during his time with the Toreros leading to much improved command that now looks solid average. It's a very solid #4 starter's package, and perhaps more if he can add a tick of velocity or refine his changeup a bit more while holding his command where it is. Additionally, he's young for a college junior and only turned 21 shortly after the draft, adding some upside.

3-97: LHP Pete Hansen, Texas. My rank: #195.
Slot value: $629,800. Signing bonus: $629,800. 
If anything, this is a very interesting pick. I'm not totally bought in, but I recognize the upside here and if the Cardinals play their cards just right, they could come out looking very smart. Pete Hansen generated a lot of draft buzz during the shortened 2020 season, his freshman year, and entered the 2021 draft cycle a potential top fifty pick as a draft-eligible sophomore. Despite a dominant season alongside Ty Madden in that excellent Texas rotation (1.88 ERA, 80/23 K/BB in 91 innings), he returned to school as his stuff took a massive step backwards somehow without impacting his performance. The stuff wasn't all the way back in 2022, but he was still very good with a 3.76 ERA and a 120/19 strikeout to walk ratio over 107.2 innings for the Longhorns. Hansen is very much an enigma – his fastball has touched as high as 94 in the past, especially frequently back in 2020 when he sat in the low 90's, but he also had days in 2021 where he literally sat in the mid 80's. Typically, he's perfectly happy sitting in the upper 80's, and as an observer it just seems like he doesn't care much for velocity at all. Even with that mediocre velocity, I saw him touch 90 on pitch #114 of a game in 2022, so he's not 87-89 for a lack of arm strength. There are also some nice spin rates that create sneaky life on his fastball, so if he does get back more into that 91-93 range, the pitch could play well up. Hansen also throws an above average slider that for now is his best pro pitch, while adding a solid average changeup and a fringier curveball that he uses to steal strikes. The 6'2" lefty has plus command of his arsenal from a very easy, simple delivery, which is partially why he was able to put up the numbers he did in Austin. This will be a very interesting case study once he hits the Cardinals' player development system. His game is very much not centered around velocity, but without a plus offspeed pitch to keep hitters off his fastball, he is not going to find much success sitting in the upper 80's against minor league and major league hitters. The Cardinals will want to bring him out of his comfort zone a little bit and get that velocity up, which he has shown he's capable of. Now whether he's able to maintain his plus command while pitching like that remains to be seen, but I'm much more confident in the Sacramento-area product developing to the best of his abilities in the St. Louis organization than I would be in a less effective player development system such as Washington or Oakland.

4-127: C Jimmy Crooks, Oklahoma. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $470,300. Signing bonus: $470,300.
The Cardinals finally broke from their string of college lefties to pick up Jimmy Crooks, ironically a left handed hitting catcher. He spent his freshman season at McLennan JC in Waco before transferring to Oklahoma, where he has quietly been one of the better catchers in the Big 12. Despite not leaving the yard until his 22nd game of the season in late March, he got hot late in the year like the rest of the Oklahoma team and finished with a very solid .305/.430/.506 slash line, nine home runs, and a 57/43 strikeout to walk ratio over 69 games. It's a pretty traditional backup catcher profile, with average power coming from a quick, simple left handed cut that's more designed for line drives. The DFW native works a lot of deep counts and can be prone to chasing breaking balls, but overall keeps the strikeouts reasonably down and draws plenty of walks. It's a solid offensive profile that will play in pro ball, albeit perhaps not quite enough to become Yadier Molina's full time successor. Behind the plate, it's very solid defense with a strong arm, though I did see him lose focus occasionally and let balls get to the backstop that should have been kept in front. Overall, it's a solid package that could produce 10-15 home runs per season with middling on-base percentages at his ceiling, which would be very valuable from a catcher. Through four games at Low A Palm Beach, Crooks is slashing .182/.357/.273 with a 5/2 strikeout to walk ratio.

5-157: OF Victor Scott, West Virginia. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $350,400. Signing bonus: $350,400.
If Cardinals fans are feeling the sting of losing Harrison Bader, they can look to this year's draft for a replacement, even if he's a few years away. Victor Scott never put up spectacular numbers at West Virginia, where he finished 2022 with a rather pedestrian .278/.397/.454 slash line, six home runs, and a 53/35 strikeout to walk ratio over 55 games, but there is real upside here. He's a plus-plus runner that stole 38 bases this spring and eleven more in the Cape Cod Leauge this summer, really deploying that speed well both on the basepaths and in center field, where he'll fit right in as Bader-esque. Scott has a very good eye at the plate and tracks pitches very well, leading to a very healthy 14% walk rate this spring and an even more impressive 9/14 strikeout to walk ratio over twenty games on the Cape. Though he finished his WVU career with just eleven home runs in 121 games, there's some sneaky power in the profile with a knack for hitting the ball hard, all coming from a quick, balanced left handed stroke. He didn't impact the ball as much as he would have liked on the Cape (.173/.368/.308), but if the Cardinals play their cards right, they could unlock a 15+ home run bat with high on-base percentages and great center field defense. That sounds like a gamble worth taking in the fifth round. Through five games with Low A Palm Beach, he's slashing .182/.389/.182 with an even 5/5 strikeout to walk ratio.

6-187: RHP Max Rajcic, UCLA. My rank: #159.
Slot value: $270,700. Signing bonus: $600,000 ($329,300 above slot value).
The Cardinals' lone over slot bonus in the top ten rounds went to Max Rajcic, who signed for nearly double the slot value in the sixth round. Rajcic was a well-known name at Orange Lutheran High School in Southern California, but went undrafted in the shortened 2020 draft and reached campus at UCLA. After excelling as the team's closer as a freshman in 2021, he stepped into the rotation in 2022 with a 3.28 ERA and a 92/20 strikeout to walk ratio over 85 innings. He sits in the low 90's with his fastball, topping out around 95, but he's more known for his offspeed stuff. Rajcic's curveball is an easy plus pitch with huge spin rates and wicked bite, while his changeup flashes above average at its best and gives him another quality weapon. He pounds the strike zone with all three and projects for above average command, which goes great in tandem with his arsenal. The 6' righty is physically maxed out and is just an average athlete, with a fairly generic release that makes his fastball play down, but that's about the only knock on his profile. If he can hold up in a starter's role and potentially add some life to his fastball, he could be a solid #4 guy, or he could slide back to the bullpen eventually and pitch off his offspeed stuff. He certainly has the competitive makeup to thrive in the latter role, and it will be interesting to see how the Cardinals develop him.

8-247: RHP Cade Winquest, UT Arlington. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $174,600. Signing bonus: $174,600.
Cade Winquest will be an interesting project for the Cardinals. He's always flashed potential, but finished his four year career at UT Arlington with a 5.77 ERA and never quite found that breakout scouts were looking for. In 2022, he put up a 5.40 ERA and a 57/23 strikeout to walk ratio over 58.1 innings, an incremental step forward from what he had bene doing. Winquest is a great athlete, getting down the mound extremely well with great extension that helps his pitches play up and will give the Cardinals a lot to work with. His fastball can sit in the low to mid 90's and get up to 98 at its best, coming in with plenty of running life to keep it off barrels. He also adds a big curveball with deep bite in the mid 70's, but it can pop out of his hand at times and could use more consistency. The Fort Worth-area native closes out his arsenal with a hard changeup in the upper 80's with arm side fade, and he likes to use it low and away against left handed hitters. Holding Winquest back for now is command, as he rushes his delivery late and has struggled to find a balance between throwing strikes and keeping the ball off the middle of the plate. He's likely better suited in a bullpen role, especially in a deep Cardinals system that includes plenty of polished, innings-eating starter types.

12-367: SS Michael Curialle, UCLA. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: up to $125,000. Signing bonus: $150,000 ($25,000 against bonus pool).
Michael Curialle, like his teammate and fellow Cardinals draftee Max Rajcic, was a well known prospect out of the Orange County private school ranks, but reached campus at UCLA. Unlike Rajcic, he's been more good than great in Westwood, though he shook off a slow start in 2022 and was red hot when the Bruins were knocked out of the Auburn Regional, finishing the season with a .319/.395/.479 slash line, five home runs, and a 58/21 strikeout to walk ratio over 58 games. He takes healthy, uppercut hacks from the right side that help him put balls deep into the gap and occasionally over the fence, though he also swings and misses at a decent clip and when he's cold, such as early this season, he doesn't have enough power to make up for the strikeouts (21.2% rate in 2022). It's a bit of a tweener offensive profile in that the swing and miss isn't egregious and the power is solid, but he'll need to take a step forward in one or the other to make an impact. Defensively, he's played all over the diamond at UCLA and shows good actions on the infield, though he's not quite explosive enough to handle shortstop and probably fits better at second or third base. The Cardinals are buying into the track record of hitting (career .306/.380/.455 hitter at UCLA with strong showings in high school as well) and defensive versatility, and the fact that he was one of the toughest outs in the Pac-12 from mid-April onwards certainly makes everything look better. Through four games at Low A Palm Beach, Curialle is slashing .250/.333/.250 with one strikeout and one walk.

2022 MLB Draft: an early look at the Pac-12

2021 draftees: 45. Top school: UCLA (10)
2021 preseason writeup (published 12/17/2020)

Top draftees:
1-17, Reds: SS Matt McLain (UCLA)
2-38, Rangers: OF Aaron Zavala (Oregon)
2-55, Yankees: RHP Brendan Beck (Stanford)
2-63, Rays: 1B Kyle Manzardo (Washington State)
CBB-70, Cardinals: OF Ryan Holgate (Arizona)
3-82, Nationals: 1B Branden Boissiere (Arizona)

Though the Pac-12 snapped a streak of three straight seasons of at least three first round picks (including at least one in the top five overall), it still showed well in 2021 with every school except Utah having at least three players drafted and UCLA's Matt McLain leading a barrage of ten Bruins as the league's sole first rounder. This year, the league could get back on that pace, with some huge bats in Daniel Susac, Brock Jones, Dylan Beavers, and Ethan Long all having very real first round aspirations heading into the season. Throw in Max Rajcic and any pop-up prospects that could come along, and we should hear a lot from the West Coast early on. Overall, this is a hitter-heavy list, led by Arizona State placing three. Heading into the 2022 season, the top prospects for the upcoming draft are:

1. C Daniel Susac, Arizona.
Bat: S. Throw: R. 6'4", 205 lbs. Born 5/14/2001. Hometown: Roseville, CA.
2021: 12 HR, .335/.392/.591, 0 SB, 47/19 K/BB in 61 games.
In 2020, Daniel Susac had a chance to go near the back of the five round draft, but ultimately teams could not meet his asking price and he headed south to Arizona for school. The younger brother of MLB catcher Andrew Susac and a cousin of incoming freshman Anthony Susac, Daniel's massive freshman season now has him ready to take over as the best player in the family. Earning a starting role from day one, he took absolutely no time to adjust to the college level and hit right in the middle of arguably the top offense in college baseball, even rising to the challenge with a .363/.397/.669 line in conference play. Because he's a full year older than much of his high school graduating class, he'll be eligible as a true sophomore but that huge season means he already has plenty of track record. Susac stands out in a variety of areas, bringing a profile that offers both upside and balance. He has plus raw power from both sides of the plate, a product of his long-limbed 6'4" frame that's packed with strength from top to bottom. While he can be an aggressive hitter, he still makes very consistent hard contact and keeps his strikeout rates to a reasonable level, especially for an underclassman. At this point, he rarely walks, but that's not a huge issue for now given his feel for the barrel. On the defensive side, the Sacramento-area product moves very well for his size and will stick behind the plate, adding a plus arm with a quick, effortless release that helps him gun down runners. There are very few holes in Susac's game, with the upside of an All Star catcher who can hit 25-30 home runs per season while getting on base at a solid clip and playing good defense. That's a first round projection, with a chance to hit his way into the top half of the round if he can draw a few more walks.

2. OF Brock Jones, Stanford.
Bat: L. Throw: L. 6' 205 lbs. Born 3/28/2001. Hometown: Clovis, CA.
2021: 18 HR, .311/.453/.646, 14 SB, 59/49 K/BB in 56 games.
I went back and forth between Daniel Susac and Brock Jones for the top spot on this list, and even though I eventually landed on Susac, Jones might have an even higher ceiling. He's a stud athlete that also played ten games at the safety position for Stanford's football team in 2019, then after hitting an unremarkable .228/.323/.316 in the shortened 2020 season, broke out for a .311/.453/.646 line this spring with his focus solely on baseball. He packs a ton of strength into a compact six foot frame, giving him the best combination of physical tools and performance in the entire conference. Jones shows off plus raw power from the left side, with a very simple, direct swing effectively channeling his strength into game power with 18 home runs in 2021. He's also an above average runner that can make things happen on the bases, and that translates to plenty of range in the outfield. Safeties don't throw the football very often and he doesn't have that big left arm you often see from these compact power hitters, so if he gets pushed off of center field by a better defender, left field is his most likely destination. The good news is that the Fresno product should hit plenty enough to profile as an every day player even at that less in-demand position and could be an above average defender there. Jones works a lot of deep counts and while he draws his fair share of walks, he can also get into trouble with strikeouts sometimes. The pure hitting ability is there and as he gets farther removed from his football career, we could see a reduction in his strikeout rate from the 22% we saw in 2021. If that happens, he should go off the board relatively early in the first round, and for now it's probably a back of the first round profile.

3. OF Dylan Beavers, California.
Bat: L. Throw: R. 6'4", 205 lbs. Born 8/11/2001. Hometown: Paso Robles, CA.
2021: 18 HR, .303/.401/.630, 10 SB, 53/32 K/BB in 55 games.
Dylan Beavers is another huge 2021 performer with upside still untapped that could push him into the top half of the first round with a strong 2022. He's extremely young for a college junior, nearly three months younger than true sophomore Daniel Susac, which is something scouts like to see. Beavers produces above average raw power from the left side that he taps very consistently in games, and with his lanky, projectable 6'4" frame, there is probably plus power in the tank. He's really loose in his swing, often just dropping his hands to the ball and letting his natural strength and leverage do the work rather than really selling out for power. A little bit of mechanical refinement to really get him driving up through it will help in that power projection as well. He's fairly aggressive at the plate and struck out in more than 20% of his plate appearances, something he'll want to cut down in 2022, but for now it's not a huge issue and he projects as at least an average hitter if not above average. Beavers' natural athleticism serves him well in the outfield as well, where he has an outside chance to stick in center field if the team that drafts him doesn't have a better option, and he could make a very solid right fielder or a well above average left fielder if it came down to it, showing more arm strength than Brock Jones. For now, because he doesn't control the strike zone as well as the top tier of college hitters in this draft (and an unremarkable eight game run through the Cape Cod League doesn't help either), he probably projects in the second round, but his youth and frame give him every chance to climb boards in 2022.

4. RHP Max Rajcic, UCLA.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 6', 205 lbs. Born 8/3/2001. Hometown: Fullerton, CA.
2021: 2-1, 1.65 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 36/8 K/BB in 32.2 innings.
Like Daniel Susac, Max Rajcic had a chance to go in the back of the shortened 2020 draft if he were signable, and also like Susac, he's eligible again in 2022 because he's old for the class, though still two and a half months younger than his Arizona counterpart. Rajcic is the top pitching prospect in the conference heading into the season, having posted a strong freshman season as the UCLA closer followed by a very respectable run through the Cape Cod League as a starter (4.32 ERA, 28/8 K/BB in 25 IP). He consistently touched 95-96 as a reliever last spring, then sat comfortably in the low 90's as a starter on the Cape with good command of that fastball. His bread and butter is a wipeout slider with extremely high spin rates, coming in with tight, late bite that makes it a plus pitch. For now, he does command his fastball better than his slider, but it has been extremely effective for him nonetheless. Rajcic also throws a changeup with some fade, but doesn't quite have quite as much feel for it as his fastball and slider and he mainly sticks with those two pitches in games. In order to pitch his way into the top two rounds in 2022, he'll want to establish that changeup as at least a consistently useable game pitch, and without it he's more of a third round type. The other big item on his to do list is proving his durability as a starter and holding his stuff throughout the spring, as he'll get less benefit of the doubt as a physically maxed-out six footer with some effort in his delivery. For now, the Southern California product projects in the third round range but I have a hunch he's going to change that.

5. 1B Ethan Long, Arizona State.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 6'2", 215 lbs. Born 5/10/2001. Hometown: Gilbert, AZ.
2021; 16 HR, .340/.417/.704, 0 SB, 46/18 K/BB in 51 games.
Ethan Long is in the same boat as Daniel Susac and Max Rajcic as a true sophomore that's eligible this year with an early birthday, and he's actually the oldest of the three and will turn 21 before many true juniors. Long rounds out the quartet of Pac-12 mashers with Susac, Brock Jones, and Dylan Beavers, and his 1.121 OPS in 2021 healthily bested all three of the others. For now, he's mostly a one tool player, but it's a loud one. The Phoenix-area native has plus raw power from the right side, flinging the barrel through the zone with ease with a ton of bat speed that helps him blast baseballs impressive distances to all fields. He taps that power very consistently in games and needed no time to adjust to Pac-12 pitching, still holding a .330/.423/.680 line against in-conference opponents. For now, that power comes with a healthy amount of swing and miss, with his 24% strikeout rate also the highest of the quartet stemming from an aggressive approach and the need to better identify pitches. He also does not provide much defensive value as a below average runner, but more seasoning and exposure in the field this spring could shed light as to whether he could stick in a corner outfield spot or just be limited to first base. Long's strong arm has run fastballs up to 97 and he even earned 6.2 (scoreless) innings out of the Sun Devil bullpen in 2021, so that could help make right field work. If he comes out in 2022 with a more selective approach at the plate and cuts his strikeout rate to under 20%, he could mash his way into the top couple of rounds with an Aaron Sabato/Seth Beer type of profile.

6. LHP Cooper Hjerpe, Oregon State.
Bat: L. Throw: L. 6'2", 190 lbs. Born 3/16/2001. Hometown: Capay, CA.
2021: 3-6, 4.21 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 98/27 K/BB in 77 innings.
Cooper Hjerpe is a favorite sleeper among Pacific Northwest area scouts, with a profile somewhat similar to TCU lefty Austin Krob, except that he's a year and a half younger with more time to build on his game. Hjerpe sits in the low 90's with his fastball but can run it up as high as 97, adding a sweeping slider and a sinking changeup. The fastball comes in with a flat approach angle, while his slider can pop out of his hand at times but can also show big lateral break, while his changeup has great separation from his fastball. Everything plays up because he comes from a low three quarters, nearly sidearm slot, making everything tough to pick up and producing a unique movement pattern. The fact that he fills up the strike zone with all three pitches is a bonus as well, with a repeatable delivery and a strong frame helping him project as a starter in pro ball. For now, he doesn't quite have the out pitch to profile in the top couple rounds, but a step forward with pretty much anything in 2022 could send him flying up boards. It's a back-end starter projection with a chance for more.

7. RHP Will Frisch, Oregon State.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 6', 225 lbs. Born 7/14/2000. Hometown: Stillwater, MN.
2021: 3-0, 2.38 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 54/24 K/BB in 56.2 innings.
Will Frisch was eligible as a sophomore last spring due to an early birthday, coming in at #201 on my board, but when the money wasn't there, he decided to head back to school and try his luck again. He's coming off a very strong season as a swingman for Oregon State, often throwing multiple innings and going five innings in strong starts against New Mexico, Washington, and Oregon. Frisch sits in the low 90's with his fastball and has popped for as much as 98 in short stints, coming from a lower arm slot that gives the pitch a flat approach angle, with the ability to run and sink the ball when he needs to. He flips in an average slider and flashes an above average changeup, though I have seen him struggle to keep the latter down at times. The 6' righty doesn't have much projection remaining but does generally do a good job of filling up the strike zone, though he can be scattered at times. He projects as a back-end starter or a long reliever for now, with the chance to improve that projection if he can tighten up his slider and/or get more consistent with his location within the zone, both with his fastball and offspeed stuff. The Minnesotan will also be gunning for more innings in the rotation, which with Kevin Abel (Reds, seventh round) and Jack Washburn (transfer, Ole Miss) gone, should be easier in 2022.

8. OF/RHP Steven Zobac, California.
Bat: L. Throw: R. 6'2", 200 lbs. Born 10/14/2000. Hometown: San Jose, CA.
2021: 5 HR, .240/.344/.359, 4 SB, 35/20 K/BB in 52 games.
2021: 2-2, 4.66 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 19/8 K/BB in 19.1 innings.
Steven Zobac is an interesting two-way player that has a chance to work his way into the top couple of rounds in either role. I prefer him slightly as a hitter, where he's yet to make a big impact at Cal but did hit .305/.443/.542 with more walks (12) than strikeouts (11) in 21 games in the California Collegiate League this summer. He has a compact left handed swing and manages the strike zone well, giving him a good shot at an above average hit tool in time. With a strong 6'2" frame, I could see him growing into average power as well if he adds a little bit of loft, and together that's a very balanced offensive profile. As you'd imagine, he has a strong arm in the outfield that will make him a solid right fielder, and he's athletic and fast enough to steal a few bases here and there. To me, it seems like the kind of profile where everything could click once he focuses solely on hitting. On the mound, I haven't seen any velocity numbers for Zobac since high school, where he sat around 90 with his fastball, so I'd imagine he's probably a slight tick above that now. He has a short but sharp cutter/slider that functions as his primary bat-missing pitch, and in general he throws strikes. The San Jose product will need to prove he can handle longer outings after typically throwing one to two innings at a time last spring and over the summer, and in general he looks a bit more natural at the plate than on the mound in my opinion. He looks like a late day two option as a hitter, which could become an early day two profile with a singular focus.

9. 2B Joe Lampe, Arizona State.
Bat: L. Throw: R. 6'1", 185 lbs. Born 12/5/2000. Hometown: Petaluma, CA.
2021: 3 HR, .294/.383/.461, 6 SB, 27/21 K/BB in 54 games.
Joe Lampe played with Spencer Torkelson at Casa Grande High School just north of San Francisco, then after a very successful year at Santa Rosa College (.424/.477/.687 in 20 games), he followed in Torkelson's footsteps down to Arizona State for the 2021 season. He may not have produced the loud numbers of his predecessor, but he was one of the Sun Devils' most consistent hitters last year and figures to provide a similarly steady presence in 2022. Lampe makes a ton of hard contact and struck out in just 12% of his plate appearances in 2021, showing excellent bat to ball skills and using the entire field extremely well. He'll likely always have well below average power, having knocked just two extra base hits in 37 Cape Cod League games this summer, but his plus speed will likely help him hit plenty of doubles and triples as he shoots line drives from gap to gap. He's selective at the plate and usually finds good pitches to hit, and when he gets them, he's adept at going with the pitch and getting his best swing off. His future position is a bit up in the air, but he should provide positive value wherever he ends up, whether that's shortstop (probably only in the best-case scenario), second base, or the outfield. Lampe looks like a late day two pick and projects as a super-utility type who can get on base consistently.

10. 2B Sean McLain, Arizona State.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 5'11", 170 lbs. Born 3/22/2001. Hometown: Tustin, CA.
2021: 7 HR, .322/.386/.519, 6 SB, 52/13 K/BB in 52 games.
Matt McLain has earned most of the attention as a two-time first round pick, but the McLain family has far more to offer. The youngest, Nick, just reached campus at UCLA after turning down six figure offers out of high school, while middle brother Sean is coming off a strong breakout season at Arizona State and could be a high draft pick this spring. Sean has a fairly similar profile to Matt if you take perhaps a half grade off most of his tools, with a consistent line drive bat that has taken very well to the Pac-12. He utilizes a compact right handed swing, again not unlike his brother, with the chance to tap into average power if he adds some loft. The Orange County product is a very aggressive hitter at this point in his career and rarely walks, so he'll want to show better zone control in 2022 to prove to teams that he'll be ready for pro pitching. His speed and athleticism make him a good candidate to stick at second base in pro ball.