2022 Amateur Draft Overview

It’s that time of year! The 2022 CBA Amateur Draft is upon us. Below you’ll find an oft-updated rundown of the first round draft picks, as well as analysis for each pick. Enjoy!

Round One

R1P1 – Detroit Motors select P Scott Golden, Miami University

The amount of capital Detroit sent to Bay Area was a point of scruitny from some GMs, but there’s no denying Golden’s arm or personality. Detroit got the best player to come out of this draft, period. Whether or not they gave up too much won’t be decided for a few seasons at least, but for now, this one looks like a slam dunk.

R1P2 – Miami Warriors select P Seth Paddock, LSU

Paddock likely would have been a consensus #1 pick in a draft without Scott Golden. The two have had a rivalry for the last several years, having run in many of the same baseball circles. Golden gets the upperhand again today, but Miami gets themselves a pretty good pitcher in his own right. Scouts aren’t as in love with Paddock as they are Golden, but his solid tools and a good mix of pitches will give Paddock a lot of opportunities to succeed in the CBA.

R1P3 – San Diego Skylarks select P Harry Galbraith, Florida State University

The third pitcher to come off the board goes to San Diego. In the CBA’s inaugural season, it was obvious that the teams with the best pitching often won the most games. It’s easy to see why pitching is so heavy at the top of this draft. Although not in the same class as Golden and Paddock, Galbraith is definitely worthy of a first round pick. His coaches at FSU raved about his work ethic, and the scouts love his changeup. He’ll just have to put the rest together at some point.

R1P4 – Los Angeles Chilis select OF Abe Caputo, UCLA

The first hitter to come off the board is a whopper. Caputo set many records in his time at UCLA, including topping the career OBP leaderboards. He’ll travel across town to the hometown Chilis, who play only a few miles from Caputo’s parents home. Caputo isn’t really lacking any important tools in his game – everything is there, from hitting to power to defense. His speed leaves a little to be desired, but you’ll take it from a corner outfielder who does everything else really well. Solid pick for LA.

R1P5 – DC Eagles select OF Justin Jordan, Howard

The first Junior College selection comes off the board with one of the NJCAA’s best hitters headed to DC. The Hawk’s best tool is his defense, which most scouts agree plays better in center field than anyone else in the draft. Most of it is due to his blazing speed, which Jordan shows off both on the bases and in the field. Scouts give him favorable marks in the power category as well, although production was a problem with him even in the lesser NJCAA. Worst cases scenario is DC just grabbed a lock down center fielder. Good pick here.

R1P6 – Bay Area Pandas select P Jason Sarnes, LSU

The second member of the absolutely nasty Tiger rotation comes off the board to Bay Area. Overshadowed by the superior prospect in Seth Paddock, Sarnes flew under the radar for a lot of teams. The velocity is the real deal, having been clocked in at 103 a few times in his career at LSU. A lot of teams had Sarnes marked as a reliever in their eyes, but Bay Area likely sees him as a starter if they’re picking him this high. If that’s the case, they’ll have to work with him to get his slider up to snuff – its currently only a fringe average pitch at best. His fastball and changeup will both play very well out of the bullpen if that becomes the plan eventually.

R1P7 – Arizona Thunderbirds select OF Mark Hawkins, Grayson

The second Junior College centerfielder comes off the board, and they’re both very similar when looking at scouting reports of them both. Hawkins lacks that extra special gear of speed that Justin Jordan has displayed at times, but is still very, very fast. Hawkins had better power production at the plate than Jordan did against similar competition, despite lower scores across the board from scouts I’ve talked to. His K-BB% will need to be something the Thunderbird staff addresses with Hawkins fairly quickly – he’s likely to get chewed up and spit out by CBA pitching if it’s not a priority.

R1P8 – Boston Rogers select OF Ricardo Garcia, Boston Backlash (BR 16-U)

Boston stays at home with the city’s best High School baseball player joining the big league club. Garcia has an advanced approach at the plate not seen by many his age. At only 16, he’s got some growing to do. But Boston is sure keeping him at home and in his same routine will aid in his development.

R1P9 – Houston Moondogs select IF Jesse Robison, Oregon State University

Houston goes safe with this pick, opting for the speed and flashy glove of Oregon State’s third baseman. Robison hovered above a .400 BA at times in his senior season at OSU, but scouts couldn’t look past his glove and his range at third base when evaluating him. Robison is also speedy on the basepaths, giving him multiple ways to contribute to Houston’s lineup almost immediately.

R1P10 – Salt Lake City Snappers select P Carlos Rodriguez, Vanderbilt

Salt Lake City gets one of the draft’s funkiest changeups with the 10th pick. Rodriguez showed that he could strike guys out with ease at the college level, but a BB% of nearly 10% made his ERA and FIP inflate. The Snappers will need to try to get Rodriguez’s control nailed down, or he’ll likely not amount to much more than a bullpen arm in the CBA.

R1P11 – Indianapolis Hawks select P Sergio Cerna, Cochise College

A bit of a head scratcher here, the Hawks select the closer for the NJCAA Cochise College Apaches. Cerna walked almost 11% of the batters he faced, and finished the year with a 5.23 FIP. That’s the bad news. The good news is that he struck out almost 30% of the batters he faced, and had a GB% of 60%. Scouts think the movement is there, but Cerna just doesn’t have the stuff or the control you’d like to see out of an elite bullpen piece. A bit of a stretch at #11 OVR.

R1P12 – Los Angeles Chilis select P Shane Blanchard, Yavapai College

I almost just copied and pasted the summary of the Cerna pick here for LA. Another headscratching selection of a non-elite bullpen piece from Community College. Blanchard, like Cerna, struck out 30% of batters he faced, but walked over 10% of them. Also like Cerna, Blanchard has a GB% hovering around 60%. With even less stuff and control than Cerna, and definitely less movement, LA might have grabbed the ‘worst pick’ award only moments after Indy tried to grab it for themselves.

R1P13 – Austin Outlaws select OF Juan Salazar, Oregon State University

Back to the land of the sensible here with Austin, as they take one of the top college bats in the draft. Salazar showed off many tools while at OSU, including Plus Contact, Plus Defense, and Plus Plus Speed. Scouts think he might even be able to tap into a power vein, given his body type and the fact that he’s still only 22 years old. Nice pick here by the Outlaws.

R1P14 – Bay Area Pandas select SS Andy Rodriguez, Boston Backlash (BR 16-U)

The second member of the Boston area Babe Ruth affilate to be taken in this draft, Bay Area gets off to a good start in their rebuild. Rodriguez shined in the games that scouts attended mostly to see Ricardo Garcia, and was able to hit .400 on the season with plus power coming from the shortstop position. His defense is good, but he makes too many mental errors currently. He’ll need to slow the game down a little bit in order to become sure-handed up the middle.

R1P15 – Miami Warriors select C Alejandro Pena, Vanderbilt

Miami will be the new home of Captain Commodore, a player sure to be as loved by his teammates in Miami as he was during his time at Vanderbilt. Pena is exactly what you want out of a drafted catcher – solid skills to start with, and a lot of potential. Pena will need to spend some time in the minors to get some reps with the pros, but expect to see him behind the plate for the Warriors for many seasons once he’s ready.

R1P16 – Cincinnati Royals select P Orlando Orozco, Arkansas

Cincinnati picks up the man of many pitches, Arkasas ace Orlando Orozco. Orozco got hit hard by college bats in his senior year, with an ERA over 5. But Cincinnati brass believe they know exactly how to help Orozco succeed in the majors. They were impressed by how many pitches he can throw from multiple arm angles, which should help add to his ability once he can get a little more control on those pitches.

R1P17 – Miami Warriors select P Zack Bryant, Laredo College

Miami selects again here, and nab a pitcher to throw to their new catcher. Bryant served as Laredo’s ace during his senior season, striking out over 30% of guys he faced while keeping a respectable 6.6% BB%. If he can continue that in the big leagues, he’ll be a successful back of the rotation piece in no time.

R1P18 – Denver Wolves select P Chris Johnson, Reno AABC

The first High School pitcher comes off the board to Denver at 18. Johnson shined on the mound for Reno in his senior year, but wasn’t exactly heavily scouted. I haven’t been able to get much information from scouts around the Reno area on Johnson, but the ones I’ve contacted were surprised he went in the first round of the draft. Perhaps Denver knows something we don’t?

R1P19 – Oklahoma Mammoths select P Esteban Sanchez, Oregon

The first truly elite reliever comes off the board to Oklahoma in the form of Ducks closer Esteban Sanchez. Sanchez was lights out in his senior year, racking up 8 saves in 20 games with an ERA under 0.60. His 43% strikeout rate matched with a walk rate under 7% was evident in the way he pitches. Sanchez’s pitches are violent, cutting pitches that swerve away from righties and lefties alike. He’ll be a stalwart in the Mammoth bullpen from day one.

R1P20 – Carolina Aces select IF Jimmy Eggert, Atlanta Pony League

Our first Pony League player comes off the board to Carolina. It’s always very hard to scout players this young, but even so, it’s hard to see what Carolina saw in this kid. If I’m drafting in this position, there’s no way I’m taking a 15 year old kid with no real standout skills. Must be the GM’s kid or something.

R1P21 – DC Eagles select 1B/DH Dermott Main, Phoenix AABC

This might be my favorite pick of the draft so far. Dermott Main is a natural with a baseball bat. After coming over from Australia in a foreign exchange student situation, Main decided to take up baseball. And boy, was that the best decision this young man ever made. Immediately becoming one of, if not the best high school hitters in the nation, Dermott Main now finds himself in a big league baseball organization. The power is real – we’ll just have to see if DC coaching staff can help traslate that into game situtations.

R1P22 – New York Roar select IF Miguel Cuellar, Fort Worth AABC

The high school bats continue to be selected here in the first round. Cuellar served as Fort Worth’s leadoff man in his senior year, and has legit wheels to work with. The rest of his game is raw, and some scouts think he’ll likely be a pinch runner or defensive replacement at best in the CBA. He has interesting power potential due to his body type however, so this pick could potentially pan out for New York.

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