2022 MLB Mock Draft 1.0: Mets picks and rest of Top 20

The 2022 MLB Draft starts on July 17, and the Mets are going to have a unique opportunity that likely will not be replicated any time soon. New York has five of the top 90 selections, including two first round picks.

They received the 11^th overall pick as compensation for not signing Kumar Rocker after last year's draft and the 75^th overall pick as compensation when Noah Syndergaard signed with the Los Angeles Angels. 

The Mets will also have their own picks at No. 14 overall, No. 52 overall and No. 90 overall. Having the extra picks gives them a bonus pool of $13,955,700, which is the third-highest in the league behind only the Arizona Diamondbacks and Baltimore Orioles -- adding to the flexibility in what they can do.

Coming into the spring, this was considered a strong and deep draft class. However, there were multiple first round-caliber pitchers who underwent Tommy John surgery, which has changed the perception of this class to a less strong class in Round 1 with more depth than normal beyond it. That depth does come with a lot of injury-related risk. 

I will be doing a few mock drafts here leading up to the first day of the draft, and here is mock 1.0:

1. Baltimore Orioles – OF Druw Jones, Wesleyan HS (GA)

The son of Braves legend Andruw Jones has a chance to be a 30 home run bat while playing a Gold Glove-caliber center field. I have not spoken to someone who has anyone but Jones as the No. 1 player in the draft. If Baltimore wants to go under slot, Jackson Holliday or Brooks Lee could make sense.

2. Arizona Diamondbacks – OF Elijah Green, IMG Academy (FL)

The son of former NFL tight end Eric Green. Green is a tooled-up outfielder with power, speed, and defense. He swings and misses a little more than you’d like, but Arizona has hunted star potential in the draft, and Green would add to that. They’d love to have a shot at Jones.

3. Texas Rangers – C Kevin Parada, Georgia Tech

The first pick so far who is not a son of a former pro athlete. Texas has also scouted Holliday heavily. They have a propensity for college players in the first round, and why not give last year's pick, Jack Leiter, his long-term catcher who happened to hit .361 with 22 home runs and 88 RBI in 60 games?

4. Pittsburgh Pirates – 3B Cam Collier, Chipola JC

And we are back with a son of a former pro athlete. This time it is the son of former MLB infielder Lou Collier. Collier may have more helium than anyone in this draft process, with excellent bat speed, a plus arm, and raw power. They will likely be able to save some slot money here, too.

5. Washington Nationals – SS Jackson Holliday, Stillwater HS (OK)

I swear I am not doing this on purpose. The son of former big leaguer Matt Holliday is an option with all of the previous four picks and the run ends here. Holliday has an above average hit tool and has gotten stronger this year. He also has a high baseball IQ and is considered an ascending player.

6. Miami Marlins – SS Brooks Lee, Cal Poly

The Marlins took the best available last year when Kahlil Watson fell into their laps. They do it again with the best pure college bat in the class, who some believe should be considered by Baltimore at No. 1.

7. Chicago Cubs – 2B Termarr Johnson, Mays HS (GA)

I have heard the Cubs covet Collier, but he is not available in this situation. However, my personal No. 2 player in the class is available and they don’t let him drop beyond this spot. Johnson has the best pure hit tool in a high school prospect that I have evaluated in my time doing this. He is undersized and likely relegated to second base, but you can’t teach that bat and barrel control.

8. Minnesota Twins – OF Gavin Cross, Virginia Tech

Cross may not have an elite trait, but he has at least average tools across the board, with his better tools being on the offensive side. He is a bit of a data darling who profiles as an everyday right fielder.

9. Kansas City Royals – RHP Brock Porter, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s HS (MI)

We have our first pitcher off the board. If the first pitcher does not go until No. 9 or even later, it will be the latest the first pitcher has ever gone in an MLB Draft dating back to 1965 when it started. Porter is a tall right-hander who will touch 100 mph with an above average changeup and developing curve and slider. He was recently named the Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year.

10. Colorado Rockies – 1B/OF Jacob Berry, LSU

Colorado is mostly being linked to college bats, and Berry may not have a definitive defensive home. Some think it is a corner outfield spot, some think it is first base, some think he is a DH. But one thing Berry can do is hit. It is an above average hit tool with potential for plus power.

11. Mets – 2B Jace Jung, Texas Tech

Jung is the younger brother of Texas Rangers prospect Josh Jung. He may have one of the stranger pre-swing set-ups you will see, but he gets the bat through the zone in plenty of time with good bat speed. He is an all-field hitter who projects to hit for both average and power. He walked more than he struck out in college and had a career slash line of .328/.467/.647. His future defensive home is a question, but whoever drafts him likely sends him out as a second baseman and adjusts potentially to the outfield if necessary. Some other names I have heard linked to the Mets early on are Jett Williams, Justin Crawford, Connor Prielipp, and Daniel Susac.

12. Detroit Tigers – SS Zach Neto, Campbell

Rumors are that Detroit is looking for an advanced offensive player. They’d like to see Cross or Jung fall into their laps. Perhaps they would consider Susac, but here they take Neto, who hit over .400 this season and had more than double the number of walks (39) as strikeouts (19). He has experience playing second, third, and shortstop and many think his long-term home is second base.

13. Los Angeles Angels – LHP Connor Prielipp, Alabama

Prior to getting Tommy John surgery in May of 2021, Prielipp was considered an early candidate to be the No. 1 overall pick. Instead, he missed the entire college season but threw for teams at the MLB Draft Combine in San Diego, where his fastball velocity was averaging 93 mph -- essentially back to pre-Tommy John form. His slider also posted spin rates of over 3,000 rpm, which would be an elite big league spin rate right now. There is plenty of upside here, but the risk with Prielipp is he has only thrown 28 collegiate innings. He had the COVID shortened 2020 college season and his injury wiped out most of 2021 and all of 2022.

14. Mets – RHP Dylan Lesko, Buford HS (GA)

The Mets can go a lot of ways with their five picks in the top 90. It is clear they could use pitching in their system, but some scouts believe the smart play would be to take bats in the first and load up on arms after Round 1, where there will be depth in high school pitching and the ability to dip into the college arms coming off injury who otherwise would have gone higher. The counterpoint would be that with the extra picks and bonus pool, the Mets might be the team best set up to take the risk on Lesko. It would be the first time they have used a true first round pick on a high school arm since Scott Kazmir in 2002.

Lesko likely would have ranked inside of the top four prospects for me on my board, and would've been the best prep pitcher I have seen since MacKenzie Gore. However, he left a start with forearm tightness and underwent Tommy John surgery at the end of April. This would likely push his pro debut into mid-summer 2023. When healthy, he has a plus fastball that will touch 97 mph and the best changeup in the class. He was showing flashes with his curveball before the injury. You want to take a swing at a potential frontline arm? This is that swing.

15. San Diego Padres – SS Jett Williams, Rockwall-Heath HS (TX)

Williams is being talked about potentially moving up boards with his clean swing that rarely swings and misses, and he consistently hits the ball hard. He is undersized and likely will be a second baseman at the next level, but in mock 2.0 he could be higher than this.

16. Cleveland Guardians – OF Justin Crawford, Bishop Gorman HS (NV)

And we are back with a son of a former big leaguer! This time it is the son of Carl Crawford, who plays a lot like his dad. He has plus-plus speed and the ability to handle center field. Crawford has made better contact this year, but he has work to do on his swing and he may be a little longer to the big leagues. He has dynamic upside.

17. Philadelphia Phillies – SS Cole Young, North Allegheny HS (PA)

Young is a divisive prospect with evaluators I speak to. Some believe he is an easy top 10 player, while others think he’s closer to 20-25 range. I kind of sit in the middle. He is not the most toolsy prospect, but he has strong bat-to-ball skills and a great feel for the game. He should stick at shortstop long-term.

18. Cincinnati Reds – OF Drew Gilbert, Tennessee

The first of two first-round outfielders from Tennessee. Gilbert is a gamer with good contact skills, speed, and center field defense. He needs work on plate discipline and to potentially tap into more power. But he has a chance to be a top-of-the-order type spark plug who sticks in center field.

19. Oakland Athletics – OF Jordan Beck, Tennessee

Beck has above average raw power that he was able to tap into more in 2022. Some believe he can play center field at the next level, but he didn’t really get a chance in college because of Gilbert’s prowess out there. If he ends up in a corner outfield spot, he has enough arm to handle right field.

20. Atlanta Braves – C Daniel Susac, Arizona

Susac could go higher than this with a premium on the catching position in the league. He needs work on receiving and blocking balls, but has an above average arm. Offensively, he is a gap-to-gap hitter who could have more power with some added strength.