The 2022 JLB Green Draft is underway and the first round took less than 2 hours to complete. Some of that had to do with the fact that the Stantonians made their pick four hours early.
OK, I kid. Even if they didn't do that, it would have gone at this pace.
Some of the top performers in the minors last season were the favorites for the first round, and that makes sense because all of those top performers could be in the majors this year.
Here's a breakdown of who went where in the first round.
They chose their name based off the Yankees, and now, their first draft pick is a Yankee. (Take note of this for the March draft.) Not to say this was a homer pick at No. 1. Anthony Volpe burst onto the scene in 2021 batting .294 with 27 homers and 86 RBIs and he easily would have gone No. 1 in this draft if a non-Yankees fan was here. Volpe scored 113 runs and displayed great speed with 33 stolen bases and 6 triples. All of this happened at High-A (.286, 15 HR, 37 RBIs) and Single-A (.302, 12 HR, 49 RBIs) so this year will be the big test when he starts in Double-AA. If he continues to perform like that, maybe we see Volpe in the majors. (John Sterling better get ready.)
2. Lebowski: Corbin Carroll, CF, ARI
Injuries and the lost Covid season led to just seven games played in the last two years, but his bat is highly regarded as the best in the DBacks' system. In 49 career minor league games — all at the lowest levels — he's batted .316 with 9 triples, 4 homers and 25 RBIs.
3. Philly Cheese: Bryson Stott, SS, PHI
Now this is a homer pick. It's actually crazy to think he was even out there to grab. He hit .299 with a .390 OBP across three levels of the minors last year (only 10 games at Triple-A). But he also was a dominant player in the Arizona Fall League, and with the Phillies really needing a shortstop, this could be their answer very soon. Cheese is going to love having him in the lineup with Bryce Harper.
4. Topton - Jace Jung. 2B, Texas Tech
Why not draft the brother of the stud prospect that will likely make his Topton debut this year. Older brother Josh is a rising star and third base, so Tommy is hoping to find that same magic with Jace, who batted .337 in 56 games with Texas Tech last season. He had 21 homers, 67 RBIs and walked more than he struck out. If this brother thing works out for Topton, I could see some more Guerreros in his future.
5. Breakfast - Andruw Jones, CF, Wesleyan (GA)
More family business here. Sam took the son of one of the best defensive centerfielders all time, and he's hoping to get a little more offense out of the high schooler who is committed to Vanderbilt, but in all likelihood will find himself in the minor leagues come 2023.
6. Gamblers - Cole Winn, SP, TEX
Parker said he was going to win this year. I guess we should have believed him. Cole Winn struck out 107 batters in 86 innings last year — mostly at Double-A. He showed great control in only walking 31, but that walk-rate spiked dramatically in Triple-A, albeit a very small sample size.
7. Choo - Jhonkensy Noel, 1B/3B, CLE
Choo was clearly on Twitter last week watching Jhonkensy Noel work out. A video circulated last week which led to me researching the Guardians prospect, and I added him to my list. I still didn't have him in my first round since he is still in the lower levels of the Guardians' system. He batted .340 last year with 19 homers and 66 RBIs. He'll likely play at Double-A and be canned by Choo by May. (We all know Choo.)
8. Quad Eh - Andy Pages, CF/RF, LAD
The No. 5 prospect in the Dodgers system batted .265 with 31 homers and 88 RBIs at Advanced Low-A. There's really no place for him on the Dodgers roster at this point, so he'll likely go to Double-A and either be a key trade piece come July for the Dodgers, or he'll be a candidate to go to Triple-A and/or come up for an injured player.
9. Slammers - Ken Waldichuk, SP, NYY
Ken Waldichuk had an amazing start to 2021. He was untouchable in 7 starts at A+, posting a 0.00 ERA in 30.2 innings with 55:13 K:BB ratio. He then continued to strike out batters at Double-A, sitting down 108 in 79.1 innings. Overall, his 2021 numbers were 3.03 ERA in 110 innings with 163 strikeouts and 51 walks. The lefty will be a prime candidate to get a call in 2022.
10. Crox Sox - Nick Pratto, 1B, KC
Nick Pratto showed some great power in 2021, hitting 36 homers and driving in 98 runs in Double-A and Triple-A. The strikeouts were a bit high, but he also walked 83 times so the OBP was up at .385 last season. The Royals aren't afraid to give young players a chance to make the Opening Day club, so his spring training could be really interesting.
Now, we're on to the second round with the Stantonians making their second pick. ... Somehow they didn't submit that pick at 8 a.m.
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