2022 MLB Draft Thread

Williams being uncommitted also leaves open the possibility that he heads to JUCO and the Braves flex some draft-&-follow muscle. The new rules are confusing, but it seems like a way to get some extra money to these Day Three kids if you wait until they step onto a JUCO campus.

The prep OF they selected in the 19th round, Christian Jackson, otoh seems like he'll be a much tougher sign: from Stockbridge, committed to Georgia State, two-way player with elite velocity for his age on the mound, also played SS, 86th-percentile EV for his class, drafted as an OF by the Braves. Who knows, maybe he'll look at Michael Harris II and opt to sign—there are a lot of similarities to their profile, on paper, and the Stockbridge connection makes it eerie (though Jackson doesn't seem as fast as MHII).
 
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Dana Brown said the goal is to sign all 22 picks. After last year’s draft, he said they expected to sign 19 of the 20 (Ty Evans was the 20th rounder and went to Florida, as expected). So it sounds like maybe there’s a chance Jackson will sign. He seems to be the only one in doubt that we’ll have to follow closely.
 
I don’t mean to make you guys jealous but my 9 year old has some real talent in his rookie ball little league… thinking we will be talking about him in these threads in about 8-12 years
 
jpx7 said:
A non-RHP:

485. Atlanta Braves: E.J. Exposito, SS, Long Island University

The Braves do have quite a few SS/2B from the last couple drafts. I suppose that—along with the international field, and probably not a lot of conviction for the MIF available to them—lead them to eschew that bin.
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Would typically assume they're more "adjustable" position-wise as well since SSs tend to be the best overall athletes.
 
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First thought is great for Druw. Second thought is how is someone as "knowledgeable" about baseball still misspelling Andruw's name.
 
IslandBrave said:
Williams says he’s going to Southern University.
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Doubt that surprised many, but still makes you wonder about the pick. Pretty easy to understand the logic of taking Christian Jackson in the next round - local kid that may be swayed by growing up a Braves fan and may very well pass on college ball for an extra $25K. A little tougher to imagine a kid coming all the way across the country to do that.

I guess the "good" thing about it is you're not worried about having him cut into the pool allotment - throwing him some extra money isn't going to cost you one of the earlier kids you were much more interested in. You'd just think if they felt like there was little chance he was going to sign to begin with, that pick would have been better spent on another local kid even if he was slightly less talented (assuming there wasn't a college guy they liked almost as much). Given the state of the lower levels after the Grissom/Malloy promotions, they can use as as many lottery tickets as they can get their hands on.
 
Jim Callis:

3rd-rder Drake Baldwin signs w/@Braves for $635,500 (slot 96 = $635,800). @MSUBearBaseball C, chance to hit for average & power while providing average defense behind the plate. Athletic for his position, former hockey star in HS. @MLBDraft
 
CJ9 said:
Jim Callis:

3rd-rder Drake Baldwin signs w/@Braves for $635,500 (slot 96 = $635,800). @MSUBearBaseball C, chance to hit for average & power while providing average defense behind the plate. Athletic for his position, former hockey star in HS. @MLBDraft
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I wonder who figured $300 was a good amount to go underslot. Just seems odd to not go slot with that difference.
 
Baldwin's an intriguing dude -- I'll definitely make a point to keep an eye on him. Even if the odds of success are low, you don't get a lot of chances to find a catcher with Baldwin's potential offensive profile.
 
Yeah Baldwin is pretty intriguing. He’s got power and is probably athletic enough to move to the outfield.
 
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