Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The 2022 MLB Draft is nine days from today. This is my penultimate Big Board, and there has been a lot of movement, including a new No. 1.
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Previous Boards
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The only player to drop from the last version of the board, despite expanding to 20 players, is Drew Gilbert. He was solidly in my Top 5, but like his Tennessee teammate Blade Tidwell, there’s almost no chance he falls to No. 40, so there’s no use having him on the list. You can read his profile here.
As the board has expanded, I’ve included some new and interesting high school prospects, including some 2-way prospects, some injured prospects and powerful bats.
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Big Board 4.0
- RHP Cade Horton, Oklahoma [Profile]
- RHP Peyton Pallette, Arkansas [Profile]
- OF Ryan Cermak, Illinois State [Profile]
- RHP Landon Sims, Mississippi State [Profile]
- SS/3B Peyton Graham, Oklahoma [Profile]
- RHP Walter Ford, Pace HS (Fla.) [Profile]
- OF Jud Fabian, Florida [Profile from 2021]
- C Malcolm Moore, McClatchy HS (Calif.) [Profile]
- SS Eric Brown, Coastal Carolina
- RHP Jacob Misioroski, Crowder JC
- OF Dylan Beavers, Cal
- 1B/OF Spencer Jones, Vanderbilt
- OF Henry Bolte, Palo Alto HS (Calif.)
- OF Gavin Turley, Hamilton HS (Ariz.)
- RHP Thomas Harrington, Campbell [Profile]
- LHP Reggie Crawford, Connecticut
- RHP/3B Owen Murphy, Riverside-Brookfield HS (Ill.)
- OF Brock Jones, Stanford
- 3B/OF Cayden Wallace, Arkansas
- SS Mikey Romero, Orange Lutheran HS (Calif.)
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Horton claims the top spot after a fantastic postseason for the Sooners. There’s a better than likely chance he isn’t there at No. 40, but maybe teams aren’t as sold on the profile as I am. Wishful thinking, I’m sure.
Pallette falls to No. 2, but only because he was leap-frogged by Horton. There’s a much better chance he’s rather than Horton at the 40th spot.
Cermak falls one spot thanks to Horton, but he’s still my favorite bat who could realistic be available for the Dodgers at 40.
Sims is still holding strong in the Top 5 because of electric stuff. He’s probably the riskiest prospect on my board, but the Dodgers aren’t a risk-averse org when it comes to the draft.
Graham is still the top infielder on my board. He should hit for power and stick on the left side of the dirt.
Ford has jumped to the top spot on my board among prep pitchers. He’s one of the youngest players in the class and he’s already flashing top-of-the-rotation stuff. Ford in the Dodgers’ system could be a match made in heaven.
It’s hard to get away from the power/speed/defense combination Fabian provides. There may not be a better prospect in this draft when it comes to that trio of tools. However, the contact concerns — despite improvements — are still real.
Moore might not stick at catcher, but the bat is as legit as any prep prospect in this draft.
Brown is slowly rising up the board, and he has been linked to the Dodgers a couple times. His swing is unconventional, but it works for him.
Misioroski is another guy connected to the Dodgers. Would it really surprise you if they popped the top junior college pitcher available in this draft?
Next up is a quartet of outfielders — two collegiate, two prep. Beavers is the most well-rounded, Jones has the highest ceiling, Bolte is the most intriguing and Turley is the most athletic.
Harrington falls a bit for me because his ceiling isn’t as high as most ahead of him, but he’d still be a solid selection at No. 40.
Crawford has a very limited collegiate sample size (8 innings), but the stuff and arm talent — especially from the left side — is undeniable.
Murphy might be the best 2-way player in the draft. Some think as a hitter, he could be a Top 5 round pick. As a pitcher, he’s a borderline 1st-rounder. Might the Dodgers finally pop a player with 2-way potential and actually follow through with it?
Jones and Wallace would be safer selections at No. 40, but both were performers in big-time conferences, which counts for something.
Romero isn’t super flashy, but he’s a solid prospect who should draw comparisons to the likes of the Cubs’ Nico Hoerner.
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The final Big Board and mock draft roundup (will be light since a lot of publications only did the first round) on draft day and there will be at least a couple more profiles next week.
