The 2022 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft wrapped up Tuesday, July 19, as the final 300 picks were made in Rounds 11-20. A total of 616 selections were made since that pervious Sunday night. The three-day selection process started in Los Angeles with the Baltimore Orioles selecting high school shortstop Jackson Holliday (son of former MLB pitcher, Matt Holliday) with the top overall pick. The Arizona Diamondbacks then took high school outfielder Druw Jones (son of former MLB player, Andruw Jones) with the second pick. The bloodlines most certainly ran thick throughout this draft.
Kumar Rocker (Rangers), Termarr Johnson (Pirates) and Elijah Green (Nationals) rounded out the top five. If baseball had a Mr. Irrelevant, that went to Ethan Long (Arizona State), picked last by the San Francisco Giants. From Southwest Riverside County, there were a handful of picks selected in the draft, which was shortened from 40 rounds to five rounds in 2020. It was a cost-cutting move during the pandemic but will be the new norm heading forward.
Two local prep players, with major ties to the valley, were selected in the first 10 rounds of the draft, along with five other former CIF Southern Section standouts throughout its entirety. Mikey Romero, who played at Vista Murrieta and Orange Lutheran High School (graduated 2022), was selected in the first round by the Boston Red Sox (No. 24 overall); Christopher Paciolla, who played for Temecula Valley High School (graduated 2022), was selected in the third round by the Chicago Cubs (No. 86 overall), joining 2009 Murrieta Valley High School graduate, Patrick Wisdom, in the organization. Wisdom is currently the starting third baseman for the Cubs.
Other players local to the CIF Southern Section selected in the 20-round draft also include Jacob Reimer (Yucaipa High School), drafted 119th overall by the New York Mets; Ignacio Alvarez, who played last season at RCC, drafted by the Atlanta Braves 155th overall; Tyler Gough (Jserra Catholic High School), drafted by the Seattle Mariners 276th overall; Marques Johnson, who attended Long Beach State last season by way of RCC and Hemet High School, drafted by the Boston Red Sox 339th overall; And finally, Mason McGwire, the son of home run hitter, Mark McGwire, was drafted out of Capistrano Valley High School, also by the Chicago Cubs, at 233rd overall.
What’s next? Each club has until 5 p.m. ET Monday, Aug. 1, to come to terms with its Draft selections. If a player has exhausted his collegiate eligibility, he can sign at any time up until one week before the next year’s Draft.
Draft-and-follow picks – high school and junior college players selected after the 10th round who attend a two-year college after the Draft – can sign with their selecting teams for up to $250,000 up until a week before the following year’s Draft.
Each choice in the first 10 rounds comes with an assigned value, with the total for a club’s selections equaling what it can spend in those rounds without incurring a penalty. If a player taken in the top 10 rounds does not sign, his pick’s value gets subtracted from his team’s pool.
In order to be eligible for the MLB first-year player draft, a player must be a resident of the United States or Canada and must have never previously signed a contract with an MLB franchise. Players can be drafted right after graduating from high school, but if they have already begun to attend university they must wait until after their third year or 21st birthday in order to take part in the draft.
Even though this year’s 20-round MLB draft has concluded, many organizations will continue to add college talent in the coming days as nondrafted free agents. NDFAs can sign deals up to $125,000. As of press time, local SoCal players that have signed on as nondrafted free agents include: Marc Filia, OF/C, UC San Diego – Cleveland Guardians; Ezra Farmer, OF, Tahquitz High School, and Otto Kemp, 3B, Point Loma Nazarene, who both signed with the Philadelphia Phillies; Ian Koenig, RHP, Cabrillo Community College, and David Morgan, RHP, Hope International, who both signed with the San Diego Padres; and Caleb Famer, 2017 Tahquitz High School grad that played, and set the home run record at Colorado Mesa last season, signed with the Washington Nationals. Caleb is the older brother of Ezra.
After an amateur player is drafted by a Major League Baseball team, he is given a period of a few weeks to negotiate a signing bonus and agree to a contract. That is where these players stand currently. Though negotiated contracts will be public knowledge after Aug. 1, most of these prospects are still in their middle of their dealings. According to MLB.com, the slot value for these aforementioned players stands at: Romero – $2.98 million; Paciolla – $735,500; Reimer – $507,700; McGwire – $189,100; Alvarez – $357, 400; Gough – $159,400; Johnson – NA.
In next week’s issue, the answer to what happens next for a draft pick, after signing their MLB contract, will be answered.
JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia.com.
