Gavin Cross

The 2022 MLB Draft is underway, and here is the full list of each team’s selections from the first round.  The Dodgers are the only team without a first-rounder, as their top pick (originally 30th overall) was dropped 10 places to 40th overall (the first pick of the second round) as part of their punishment for exceeding the highest luxury-tax tier in 2021.  However, there are still 30 picks in the first round proper since the Mets have both the 11th and 14th overall picks — for not signing 10th overall pick Kumar Rocker last year, New York was given a compensatory selection in the 11th overall spot this year.

This year’s draft will again be 20 rounds long, and split over three days.  The first 80 picks will be made tonight — the first two official rounds, the two Competitive Balance Rounds, and the two sets of compensatory rounds (giving picks to teams who lost qualifying offer-rejecting free agents).  Rounds 3-10 take place on Monday, and rounds 11-20 on Tuesday.

Under the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement, the 2023 draft will have several differences, including a lottery to determine the top six picks, a revamped process for deciding the Competitive Balance rounds, possible extra picks for teams due to the Prospect Promotion Incentive rules, and possibly the end of the qualifying offer system as we know it should an international draft be implemented.

For one final year under this draft format, however, let’s dive into the picks.  More details and scouting reports on all these young players are available in pre-draft rankings from Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.  As well, Pipeline has the breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams.

The selections….

1. Baltimore Orioles: Jackson Holliday, SS, Stillwater High School (OK)
2. Arizona Diamondbacks: Druw Jones, OF, Wesleyan High School (GA)
3. Texas Rangers: Kumar Rocker, RHP, Vanderbilt (played in independent Frontier League in 2021)
4. Pittsburgh Pirates: Termarr Johnson, SS, Benjamin E. Mays High School (GA)
5. Washington Nationals: Elijah Green, OF, IMG Academy (FL)
6. Miami Marlins: Jacob Berry, 3B/OF, LSU
7. Chicago Cubs: Cade Horton, RHP, University of Oklahoma
8. Minnesota Twins: Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly
9. Kansas City Royals: Gavin Cross, OF, Virginia Tech
10. Colorado Rockies: Gabriel Hughes, RHP, Gonzaga
11. New York Mets: Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech
12. Detroit Tigers: Jace Jung, 2B, Texas Tech
13. Los Angeles Angels: Zach Neto, SS, Campbell University
14. New York Mets: Jett Williams, SS/OF, Rockwall-Heath High School (TX)
15. San Diego Padres: Dylan Lesko, RHP, Buford High School (GA)
16. Cleveland Guardians: Chase DeLauter, OF, James Madison University
17. Philadelphia Phillies: Justin Crawford, OF, Bishop Gorman High School (NV)
18. Cincinnati Reds: Cam Collier, 3B, Chipola JC (FL)
19. Oakland Athletics: Daniel Susac, C, University of Arizona
20. Atlanta Braves: Owen Murphy, RHP, Riverside-Brookfield High School (IL)
21. Seattle Mariners: Cole Young, SS, North Allegheny High School (PA)
22. St. Louis Cardinals: Cooper Hjerpe, LHP, Oregon State University
23. Toronto Blue Jays: Brandon Barriera, LHP, American Heritage High School (FL)
24. Boston Red Sox: Mikey Romero, SS, Orange Lutheran High School (CA)
25. New York Yankees: Spencer Jones, OF, Vanderbilt University
26. Chicago White Sox: Noah Schultz, LHP, Oswego East High School (IL)
27. Milwaukee Brewers: Eric Brown Jr., SS, Coastal Carolina University
28. Houston Astros: Drew Gilbert, OF, University of Tennessee
29. Tampa Bay Rays: Xavier Isaac, 1B, East Forsyth High School (NC)
30. San Francisco Giants: Reggie Crawford, LHP/1B, University of Connecticut