Detroit Tigers 2022 Mock Draft 1.0

Ryan says: In what could turn out to be one of those “How did he fall that far” players, the Mariners select the best player available in Gilbert. He was the leader of a great college baseball team at Tennessee, and he could be the first player from this draft class to make the major leagues and join Julio Rodriguez in the Mariners outfield for the next decade.

Chris says: The Cardinals went college pitching with their top pick in 2021, but Cade Horton is a different animal than Michael McGreevy. Horton’s fastball is a mid-90s weapon, and he developed a nasty slider in the middle of the season. The track record is limited, but had Horton spent all year pitching the way he did over his final five starts he’d be an easy top-ten pick.

Jon says: The lanky lefty from Oregon State struck out 161 batters with a nasty slider/change up combo. Toronto gladly adds him to their stock of pitchers in the system.

Jake says: The Red Sox go back to the well to draft Beck again, who was their 14th-rounder in 2019. He’s shown excellent bat speed and projects for above-average power—questions, though, remain about whether he will make enough contact to tap into his plus bat speed at the highest levels.

Matthew says: The Yankees are going to hope that history repeats itself with this pick – taking a college outfielder from the west coast at the back end of the first round and hope for the best. Beavers is a bit risky, as there’s some holes in his swing, but the Yanks have shown the ability to develop this kind of hitter before, so there’s no reason to believe that they can’t do it again.

Matthew says: The White Sox like to do the whole “draft a college arm, turn him into a reliever and have him join the big league club for the stretch run” thing, and that’s what they’d be doing here. Tidwell is a power arm with some injury concerns, so having him in the bullpen at first makes sense.

Jake says: The Brewers go with a deceptive lefty here and a massive frame. He moves well for his 6’9” frame with lots of room to add strength throughout. Folks love his spin rate numbers and feel his velocity could eventually reach the mid-90’s consistently as he progresses.

Jon says: The Astros were happy to watch the prep phenom from Pennsylvania drop through the 1st round. Young had a strong senior year exhibiting skills that should keep him at shortstop. He’s committed to Duke, Houston will need to make a good offer to keep him off campus.

Chris says: Jett Williams lacks ideal size at 5’8, 180, but he’s one of the best contact hitters in the prep class, and he has enough thump to potentially hit for average power. He’s also going to play defense somewhere up the middle, with shortstop a possibility and center field or second base real options.

Ryan says: The Giants have ultimate trust in their scouting department and show that by taking Pallette. He had TJ surgery in the spring, but once healthy his high-octane stuff gives him the potential to be a front line starter. The Giants will have to wait a bit for that potential outcome