2022 MLB Draft Thread (Pre-Draft Discussion)

[CheeseheadInQC]

Outside of the other guys listed on MLB.com's top 200 (Jacob Misiorowski and Jake Madden) I can't find much about any of the JUCO arms, but given the Brewers have picked a fair number lately I wonder if they go Kenya Huggins in the fourth round or something like that.

[DR28]

Ive come around on college pitcher in 1st, as long as we can get Max Wagner in 2nd.

[Eye Black]

Still a few weeks away, but I’ll throw out my random predictions for the Brewers first three picks…

#27 - Justin Campbell, RHP, Oklahoma State

#63 - Cade Doughty, 2B/3B, LSU OR Max Wagner, 3B, Clemson 

#72 - Hunter Barco, LHP, Florida

I would like to see them end up with one of Doughty or Wagner. 

[Neazy32]

for those in the know how is this draft compared to years past.. is it viewed as a deep, weak or average class??

 

[nate82]

10 hours ago, Neazy32 said:

for those in the know how is this draft compared to years past.. is it viewed as a deep, weak or average class??

 

Very weak for college pitchers.  Seems to be a top heavy draft where most of the talent is but this is true for nearly every MLB draft.  

This draft seems to be very hitter heavy but that isn't really out of the norm for most drafts for MLB.  There is a lot of value from the 2nd-5th round in this draft.  High School players are ranked higher in this draft but there are a lot of tough signs so a team would have to be willing to go over slot to get some.  

Overall I think this is just an average draft class for MLB though Druw Jones and Elijah Green look to be good superstar like talent.  There is also a lot of former MLB players kids in this draft which is weird and also making me feel old as CC Sabathia's son is also in this draft though he is currently unranked and is committed to Georgia Tech as a 1B/3B.  

 

I think I am going to change my pick to Sterlin Thompson 3B (Florida).  He has a lot of power in his bat but it hasn't shown up during games.  I think this is someone that the Brewers will pick to see if they can fix his timing issues and tap into that raw power.  Thompson is also someone who can play all over the field which is the type of player that the Brewers have been targeting as of late in trades.   

[Robocaller]

Was the draft always mid-July? I thought the short-season leagues didn't start until after the draft. Now they have to make room for ~25 guys, mostly on the AZ league teams,  when they're signed

[sveumrules]

15 minutes ago, Robocaller said:

Was the draft always mid-July? I thought the short-season leagues didn't start until after the draft. Now they have to make room for ~25 guys, mostly on the AZ league teams,  when they're signed

It had been the first part of June for years, but they switched it to coincide with the All Star Break last year I believe.

[Robocaller]

12 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

It had been the first part of June for years, but they switched it to coincide with the All Star Break last year I believe.

Lots of guys will be moving around across the system, I guess, once they sign the draftees. Some guys will get promoted, some guys will get demoted or put on ice, and some will be ending their affiliated baseball careers.

[CheeseheadInQC]

1 hour ago, Robocaller said:

Lots of guys will be moving around across the system, I guess, once they sign the draftees. Some guys will get promoted, some guys will get demoted or put on ice, and some will be ending their affiliated baseball careers.

It all depends on the overall stateside limit, Other than Nashville and maybe Carolina I don’t know that they are at the roster limit anywhere. With the shorter draft, the Brewers signed 15 draft picks and 3 UDFA last season, and five or six didn’t play at all last year. Those who did play seemed to have their debuts pretty well staggered. With the promotions that would occur anyway, finding room for a dozen players shouldn’t be that tough from an individual roster perspective.

[Robocaller]

8 hours ago, CheeseheadInQC said:

It all depends on the overall stateside limit, Other than Nashville and maybe Carolina I don’t know that they are at the roster limit anywhere. With the shorter draft, the Brewers signed 15 draft picks and 3 UDFA last season, and five or six didn’t play at all last year. Those who did play seemed to have their debuts pretty well staggered. With the promotions that would occur anyway, finding room for a dozen players shouldn’t be that tough from an individual roster perspective.

Yeah, I didn't remember the draft went to 20 rounds. It won't be as big a problem as I thought.

[nate82]

Also new this year the draft-and-follow is returning for any player drafted after the 10th round.  A player who is drafted after the 10th round and they go to a JUCO they can be designated as a draft-and-follow player.  The team will also have to sign the player before the 2023 draft.  If the team doesn't sign the player before the 2023 draft that pick is then forfeited so if a player does well in JUCO they can refuse to sign and reenter the draft.  The amount the player signs for will still count against the $225k slot.  

I believe this would count against the draft that they were drafted in so for teams that do draft-and-follow may not spend all of their draft pool.  But then again if the player is going to significantly go over the $225k slot value then they are probably going to re-enter the draft.  

[DR28]

After watching Cade Horton in the CWS, I would really like us to take him at 27… Dude was dominate.

[Playing Catch]

Does anyone have any insight as to Wisconsin native, Jack Washburn's draft situation? He had a decent junior season for Ole Miss. Perhaps he's planning to return for his senior year? I don't know how much of a prospect he may be.

 

https://olemisssports.com/sports/baseball/roster/jack-washburn/3797

[Eye Black]

Baseball America’s Mock Draft 5.0 had Oregon State LHP Cooper Hjerpe listed for the Brewers at #27. They mentioned that analytically minded teams are high on Hjerpe, and I’ve heard and seen some similar buzz elsewhere. I think I could get on board with a potential Hjerpe selection. 

[LouisEly]

MLB updated their rankings and has Gabriel Hughes at #26.  I'm getting some Corbin Burnes/Brandon Woodruff vibes from their scouting report, certainly a similar size/build.  I don't think he'll still be there at #27, but if he is, I would be elated with him as the pick. 

One other thing about Hjerpe is that he only gave up 3 HRs on the year on over 400 batters faced.  Last year he only gave up 6 HRs against 325 batters faced.

[brewmann04]

Those are some stats  on Home Runs given up 

[nate82]

Another name to watch is Vanderbilt’s Spencer Jones.  He is flying up teams draft boards comps to Judge when he was drafted by the Yankees.

[Samurai Bucky]

Haven't seen too much mentioned of Griffin Doersching.  He is done with college ball, but might be too old at 23 / 24?

[nate82]

3 hours ago, Samurai Bucky said:

Haven't seen too much mentioned of Griffin Doersching.  He is done with college ball, but might be too old at 23 / 24?

I think he is an interesting prospect but he looks to be a late round pick somewhere around 8th-10th round.  

[nate82]

Keith Law has his latest mock out and he has the Brewers taking: https://theathletic.com/3413419/2022/07/11/mlb-mock-draft-2022-orioles/

Quote

27. Milwaukee Brewers: Cooper Hjerpe, LHP, Oregon State

I think Hjerpe goes to a team that weighs its analytical output over traditional scouting, which applies to Milwaukee. I’ve also heard the Brewers with other college arms like Justin Campbell, Mazur and Thomas Harrington, although Harrington’s stock took a hit in his last outing.

Scouting report: Hjerpe had eye-popping numbers this spring for the Beavers, with a Division I-leading 161 strikeouts and a strikeouts-per-nine-innings rate that ranked second, behind only a 23-year-old sophomore at FIU. Hjerpe does it with two potentially plus secondary pitches in his slider and changeup — the former getting big sweeping action from his low slot, while the latter is helped by the deception in his delivery. The delivery is one of the main concerns, however, as Hjerpe cuts himself off and comes way across his body, while he delivers the ball from a very low slot not far above sidearm. The other concern is that his fastball is ordinary, 88-93 mph now, with multiple scouts saying they fear it’ll go backwards in pro ball when he’s asked to pitch every fifth day. He may be able to start thanks to those two secondary pitches, but there is no big-league starter in recent memory who was this cross-body, so Hjerpe may have a lot more upside in the bullpen instead.

 

[brewers888]

1 hour ago, nate82 said:

Keith Law has his latest mock out and he has the Brewers taking: https://theathletic.com/3413419/2022/07/11/mlb-mock-draft-2022-orioles/

 

Sounds way too much like Ethan Small who apparently at 25 isn't good enough to beat out the likes of Alexander and Chi Chi so I would pass with seemingly limited upside.

[Neazy32]

3 hours ago, brewers888 said:

Sounds way too much like Ethan Small who apparently at 25 isn't good enough to beat out the likes of Alexander and Chi Chi so I would pass with seemingly limited upside.

lol ethan small has plenty of upside

[sveumrules]

FanGraphs posted their latest 2022 Draft Board with scouting reports for over 100 players…

https://www.fangraphs.com/prospects/the-board/2022-mlb-draft/summary?sort=-1,1&type=0&pg=0&pageitems=10000000000000

[CheeseheadInQC]

My random predictions, ranges generally gotten from MLB pipeline rankings

1. Gabriel Hughes, pitcher, Gonzaga: Feels like it is going to be a college pitcher or outfielder judging by who is projected to go in this range. Hughes is as good of a guess as any.

2. Jacob Misiorowski, pitcher, Crowder JC: I've seen him ranked all over the board, so who knows if he is here, but the Brewers like JUCO pitching, and he is an Antoine Kelly-type upside play.

CB2: Max Wagner, 3B, Clemson: Doesn't fit the Brewers' up the middle tendency, but Milwaukee has been willing to gamble with college guys with smaller than ideal track records (although it is usually because of injury)

3. Dominic Keegan, will be announced as a catcher, Vanderbilt: I had to give the Brewers the annual won't actually stick at catcher guy, and he is the only one I came across in a reasonable range.

4. Kenya Huggins, pitcher, Chipola JC: Another JUCO pitcher, another upside play

5. Quinn Matthews, pitcher, Stanford: Lefty whose best pitch is a changeup. Sounds like a Brewers pick.

[Harold Hutchison]

On 7/11/2022 at 5:06 PM, nate82 said:

Keith Law has his latest mock out and he has the Brewers taking: https://theathletic.com/3413419/2022/07/11/mlb-mock-draft-2022-orioles/

 

Would not mind him. If the Brewers take him, they will likely be able to figure out one of two things: 1. If his motion works for him; 2. If it can be adjusted.

Given what the Brewers' organization did with Suter, Woodruff, and Lauer, and the way they turned Cousins and Alexander into contributors (at the very least) I feel quite confident that this pick wouldn't be a miss.

After that, I'd like them to get both Doughty and Wagner between the CB round and our regular 2nd-round pick, just to replenish some of that infield pipeline.