[Griever20]

2022 First-Year Player Draft

Of our last three drafts, two first-rounders went bust. One declined over the years, and the other one blew out his elbow after 22 innings...

And we only have a supplemental round pick as we gave up our first-rounder for Aaron Nola... still a good investment. Now, here is our shortlist of players that won't be around when we got our first pick...

LHSP Sean Hitt(21, 5*)
RHSP Luis Montalvo(21, 4.5*)
RHSP Jake Bowden(20, 3.5*)
RHSP Jeremy Bush(21, 3.5*)
RHSP Doug Collier(18, 3.5*)
RHSP Eddie Gunsolley(22, 3.5*)
RHSP Juan Morua(18, 3.5*)
LHSP Joe Strama(19, 3.5*)

RHRP Ghaffar Hecini(21, 5*)
RHRP Camden Hardmon(21, 4*)
RHRP Jim Holland(21, 4*)
RHRP Tommy Michael(21, 4*)

1B Blaze Jordan(19, 5*) 2nd overall pick 2021

CF Chris Capretti(18, 4*)
LF Makoto Ogawa(18, 4*)
CF Ben Avalos(22, 3.5*)
CF Jasiah Dixon(21, 3.5*)
CF Jeff Miserendino(21, 3.5*)

The draft was full of arms and our hope certainly was that one of those groundball guys with 3.5* potential drop to us... or one of the crop of outfielders maybe?

The Orioles had the first and third pick as they didn't sign Blaze Jordan due to their financial woes... and selected SP Luis Montalvo with the first overall pick... good selection as Sean Hitt may have a lot of potential, but also is 'fragile' as he blew out his elbow as a 17-year old... didn't matter as they picked him third overall.

The best hitter in Blaze Jordan went to Arizona second overall and just like that, our board of sexy picks was emptied out rather fast... and by the time we had a chance to pick, only two relievers were left... RHRP Tommy Michael and RHRP Jim Holland(21, 4*)... and we balked on them and took a high school center fielder that Logan really liked and that has good intangibles.

Supplemental Round Pick 10: Texas Rangers select CF Emmy Baker(18, 2.5* HS, 2.5* OSA) out of Williston-Elko Highschool(Williston, SC)
A solid outfielder defensively that projects to his a good amount of home runs with a decent batting average, Baker is nothing special, but a good low-risk pick as he is a hard worker and has some good speed. Wants the slot, $850k

Round 2 Pick 28: Texas Rangers select 1B Eddie Najar(18, 3.5* HS, 2* OSA) out of Bolivar-Richburg Highschool(Bolivar, NY)
An elite hitter that does struggle in the field, Najar hit .486/.540/.743 with 5HR and 38RBIs against average competition this year, and is another hard worker that prepares a lot for games. Bad news, however, he is committed to Junior College... We offered $2.6M...

Round 3 Pick 31: Texas Rangers select SS Alan Salvati(18, 2.5* HS, 1.5* OSA) out of Washington Highschool(Fremont, CA)
Good defender with a contract bat, he hit .436 against average competition. Lacks the speed to become a true leadoff hitter, but could be somebodies Gold Glove 2B or backup infielder someday... Wants the slot, $250k.

Round 4 Pick 30: Texas Rangers select SS Jared Cossaboom(18, 2.5* HS, 0.5* OSA) out of Bishop Heelan Catholic Highschool(Sioux City, IA)
Logan thinks this guy will take walks for fun at the major league level and should be able to hold his own in the field, but his likely position may be second base. Slapps a lot of groundballs when he makes contact... and that may become an 'if' as the OSA has his contact potential at 25... Slot guy at $180k

Round 5 Pick 30: Texas Rangers select C/RHRP Dave Henry(21, 0.5* HS, 0.5* OSA) out of Northern Colorado College (Greeley, CO)
One of those steals. A catcher by trait, Logan's Colorado area scout saw him pitch a training game in college and was blown away by delivery, and fastball and everything. Probably a reliever(or a bust), we will convert him into an arm right away.

Round 6 Pick 30: Texas Rangers select LHRP Juan Ramirez(22, 2* HS, 3* OSA) out of Fordham College (New York, NY)
A decent lefty reliever with good stuff, a 95-97 heater with a good slider, both pretty well developed, and iffy movement and control. He is reported as a good leader of a bullpen and was 9-3 2.83 150K in 121IP against average competition.

Round 7 Pick 30: Texas Rangers select RHRP Kevin Horton(18, 2* HS, 0.5* OSA) out of Maranatha Highschool (Pasadena, CA)
6'6'' with good 92-94 mph on the gun, a curve and a change, and an arm that attracts injuries like poo attract flies... also, his control is not that good and well... let's face it... the pool is pretty empty.

Round 8 Pick 30: Texas Rangers select 2B Jeremy Logan(18, 2.5* HS, 0.5* OSA) out of Lima Christian Highschool (Lima, NY)
Solid hitter that should hit .260 with a high OBP, but is not a great defender and not a great base stealer. To become a good prospect, he needs to develop his bat big time...

As I said, not a great draft...