2022 MLB Draft Report: Updated Top 100, Mock Picks, and Prep Players to Watch

With the NFL Draft starting tonight in Las Vegas, this has been the week for massive updates for publications covering the MLB Draft. New top prospect lists varying between 150 to 300 players and mock drafts currently guessing where the market lies. We have a new Top 100 Average Rankings Database list with these updated rankings. This list aggregates MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, ESPN, and Prospects Live rankings. 

There's not much change in the top, but a lot of movement in the middle rankings could be of interest to the White Sox. For Sox Machine Patreon supporters, you can view how each publication ranked the prospects here.

What's alarming is that Dylan Lesko is the only Top-10 ranked pitcher, and thanks to reporting from Kiley McDaniel of ESPN, we know he just had Tommy John surgery. That puts Lesko out for all of 2022 and the beginning part of 2023. He may not be fully healthy and rehabbed until May 2023 while the minor league season is in full swing. 

You'll be hearing or reading stories about Lesko's signability in the upcoming weeks. He is a Vanderbilt commit, and if Lesko were to drop out of the Top 10, would he opt to go to school? Spend his Freshman season rehabbing and taking the necessary time to regain full strength, and in 2024, be one of Vanderbilt's stars. That's certainly a plausible outcome. High school pitchers already come with high risk, even if healthy. Will a team commit a $5 million signing bonus to Lesko knowing he's hurt? Time will tell. 

Thanks to Lesko's uncertainty, we could see a Top 10 filled with position players. Pushing back pitchers later in the first round, perhaps to the Chicago White Sox at Pick 26. The pitching market is worth following how it shakes out with the college season entering the last month of the regular season. 

Both Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline and Carlos Collazo of Baseball America released new mock drafts. For Baseball America, they do highlight that their mock was before the announcement of Lesko's surgery.

MLB Pipeline Pick for White Sox:
Zach Neto, SS, Campbell

Ranked 21st in the Top 100 Average Rankings Database (ARD), Campbell University shortstop Zach Neto had a slow start in 2022. On March 4th, Neto batted .250 with only two extra-base hits (a double and triple) and no home runs. Since that series against Ohio State, Neto caught on fire against Big South Conference opponents. His season slash line is now .373/.493/.682, with six of his 20 extra-base hits gone for a home run. 

Neto is right-handed, and his swing has many moving parts before the pitches arrive. He sinks into his back hip to load up his weight, and at times there’s a leg kick helping start his lower half into motion. Other times, it’s just a toe tap. Neto does an excellent job of getting his hips open through the swing, but I’m not crazy about this batting stance. I think it requires Neto to guess what the pitch is coming to decide using a leg kick or toe tap and not reacting to the pitching coming at him. Against better pitching, I ponder if pitch recognition issues will arise because of these tendencies. 

Baseball America Pick for White Sox:
Carson Whisenhunt, LHP, East Carolina

East Carolina was mum about Carson Whisenhunt’s status at the start of 2022. Questions about some vague injury or rumored internal suspension were rampant until it came to light that Whisenhunt had been suspended for 2022 due to a failed drug test. 

That fact alone is why I haven’t spent much time considering Whisenhunt for the White Sox, even though there is a great need for more starting pitching in the farm system. His profile is similar to Jordan Wicks, who was taken 21st overall by the Chicago Cubs last year. Standard three-pitch mix with Whisenhunt’s changeup being the best offering. 

I’m not crazy about Whisenhunt’s profile, and with the failed performance enhancement test, I don’t think he would be a first-round option for the White Sox. If somehow Whisenhunt falls to the second round, sure, he could be an option. 

****************

James Fox and I went through the mock draft process a couple of weeks ago to help shape our focus. It’s not an easy task so far away from draft day. I still feel like the first-round pick will be either a prep position player or a college arm. The healthy pitchers will be drafted earlier than their pre-draft rankings suggest they should. That means the group of injured pitchers who were Top-15 talents before getting hurt could enter the equation. I’m thinking RHP Peyton Pallette or RHP Landon Sims.

I wrote about a group of prep players that could enter into the conversation at Pick 26. Jackson Holliday was one, but now there’s enough helium attached to his name that he’ll be a Top 10 pick. With Holliday leaving the picture, James and I picked two prep players to keep an eye on.

James Fox: Roman Anthony, OF

Anthony is an Ole Miss commit who had an up-and-down summer full of contact issues with lots of swing and miss. This spring, the 6-3 195-pound outfielder has improved, and his impressive raw power has been on full display. The 18-year-old projects in a corner outfield spot and hits left-handed while being a right-handed thrower. Anthony has an all-or-nothing approach, but the immense power is real. If he continues the power display while tightening up his contact profile, he could be a top 50 pick in July.

Josh Nelson: Jett Williams, SS/2B

Loud tools in a small body frame, Jett Williams is impressive on film. At just 5'8" 175 pounds, Williams makes up for the lack of size with his athleticism. At National Showcases, Williams ran a 6.47-second 60-yard dash and a 1.55-second 10-yard split. He does pitch, which Williams has hit 92 mph off the mound and during infield practice. Ultimately, I think Williams will stick at second base professionally, but how well he moves laterally could be given a chance at shortstop. 

Offensively, Williams is a gap-to-gap hitter. Consistent lower half with a bit of leg kick to help get his hips through the zone. Williams posted exit velocity numbers in the 94 mph range at showcases, so there's some pop there. Perfect Game has excellent data and a slow-motion video of Williams to paint a better picture. 

There are tools to dream on with Williams, and he could be grouped up with last year's pick Colson Montgomery and Wes Kath in future plans.