Categories: Draft

What you need to know about the 2022 MLB Draft

A look at the Carpenter Complex in Clearwater, Florida. (Cheryl Pursell)

The Phillies own the 17th overall pick in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft, which begins Sunday. Yes, the draft is here. Major League Baseball’s annual meeting to select amateur players from high school and colleges all across the country isn’t as much of a nationwide spectacle as the NFL or NBA Draft, but it’s also not a completely niche event.

You can watch the first round on ESPN and follow along at Phillies Nation for complete coverage of all 20 rounds.

Before the event kicks off, here’s everything you need to know:

Who will the Phillies draft at No. 17?

In back-to-back seasons, the Phillies drafted two of the top prep pitchers available in Mick Abel and Andrew Painter. Early returns have been tremendous, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Phillies will go back to the well for a third time.

“I’m not sure it was necessarily a strategy. We just thought those guys were really good and they happened to be there when we picked,” Phillies director of amateur scouting Brian Barber said earlier this week. “And we didn’t shy away from that demographic because we had done all the work to line them up on the board and put them in the right spot.”

If anything, the team’s most recent first-round selections tell us that under Barber, the Phillies are not in the business of risk mitigation. High school pitchers are the most high-risk cohort in the draft. If the Phillies believe in the talent, they are willing to live with the variance of outcomes. This seems like a common-sense way of approaching any draft, but the Phillies have played it safer in recent draft and were met with mixed results.

Given that information, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly who the Phillies will target at No. 17. Draft experts have mocked players such as left-handed pitcher Brandon Barriera out of American Heritage High School in Florida and former Vanderbilt star Kumar Rocker. Rocker in particular is a popular choice for the Phillies among draft experts because he’s expected to fall in the middle of the first round and the Phillies could be tempted to fast-track him to the big leagues as early as this year.

Is that line of thinking consistent with Barber’s draft philosophies? Not really, but we’ll see.

How does the MLB Draft work?

The MLB Draft is far from a utopian concept, to put it nicely. It’s not necessarily about picking the best player when you’re on the clock. Each draft choice in the first 10 rounds is given a slot value, meaning that each pick comes with a recommended signing bonus for that player. It’s merely a recommendation: Teams can sign players to an over- or under-slot deal but the catch is that teams must spend within their total allocation or face penalties.

Here are the recommended slot bonuses for each Phillies draft selection via Baseball America. The total bonus pool is $6,307,000, the third-lowest total in MLB.

Round 1, No. 17: $3,792,800
Round 3, No. 93: $659,800
Round 4, No. 122: $492,800
Round 5, No. 152: $368,100
Round 6, No. 182: $281,800
Round 7, No. 212: $220,400
Round 8, No. 242: $178,900
Round 9, No. 272: $160,700
Round 10, No. 302: $151,700

What happened to the Phillies’ second-round pick?

The Phillies surrendered their second round pick in this year’s draft after signing free agent Nick Castellanos. Castellanos was extended a qualifying offer by the Cincinnati Reds before free agency. When a team that does not receive revenue-sharing money signs a qualified free agent, they are required to give up their second-highest selection in the following year’s draft.

Those rules could change next season if MLB and the MLBPA come to an agreement on implementing an international draft by July 25. Teams like the Phillies would no longer have to surrender high draft picks after signing a top free agent.

Is there a consensus top choice in this draft?

The Baltimore Orioles own the No. 1 selection in this year’s draft. There is not an obvious Bryce Harper-esque 1-1 choice, but perhaps the most talented player in the draft is outfielder Druw Jones out of Wesleyan High School in Georgia. He’s the son of Braves great Andruw Jones. Much like his father, Druw is a plus defender in center field and can hit for power.

When speaking with reporters, Barber said that he expects the top of the draft to be position-player heavy.

“There’s a really good mix of both college and high school position players,” Barber said. “Obviously, the whole pitching ranks has taken some type of hits this year with various injuries both on the high school and college level. … As you work your way throughout the draft, I think it evens out a little more and there’s really good pitching to be found deeper in the draft.”

How to watch

Round 1 begins at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday and will be broadcasted on ESPN. Coverage of Round 2 along with several competitive balance and compensatory picks (none of which the Phillies have) can be found on MLB Network.

Rounds 3-10 can be streamed on MLB.com beginning at 2 p.m. ET on Monday. The draft wraps up with rounds 11-20 at 2 p.m. on Tuesday. To give you an idea of how fast the final 10 rounds go, Barber said he estimates the draft will be over at around 4 p.m.