The 2022 MLB Draft is in the books and the Cincinnati Reds made 22 picks. The Athletic has comprehensive live coverage of the 20-round, three-day event, including top-100 prospect rankings, mock drafts, prospect profiles, team-by-team analysis and much more. Find out how the Reds fared in the draft and much more…
How did the Reds do in the draft?
The Reds did what they did in the 2021 draft, something most teams don’t do — they kept drafting prospects, rather than just taking college seniors from the fifth or sixth round on, going for quantity without sacrificing quality in the players they selected. The Reds took the No. 2 player on my board, Chipola College third baseman Cam Collier (1), with the 18th pick. Collier was one of the youngest players in the draft class, as he would have been a high school junior but graduated early to go play at arguably the best junior college in the country, where he hit well against pitchers mostly two to three years his senior. He has a great left-handed swing that yields quality contact now and should lead to power as he fills out. He’s got a plus arm and should be able to stay at third base even though he’s likely to put on another 10-15 pounds of muscle.
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Corner infielder Sal Stewart (1A) has one of the best hit tools in this draft class, but the high schooler is going to be limited to first base and his power is all projection at this point. His approach is extremely quiet and simple, while his pitch recognition is also among the best in the class, at least among high school hitters. If you think you can add power to guys who have size and already have feel to hit, Stewart’s for you. Logan Tanner (2) is one of the best defensive catchers in the draft, with a plus-plus arm as well, and has a high-contact swing that doesn’t produce any power or enough hard contact to project to it. He has a high floor as a backup because of the defense and ability to put the ball in play, and might be a candidate for a swing adjustment to get him to drive the ball more. I thought he was going to be a first-rounder after his strong 2021 season, but he didn’t repeat the power output this year.
Oregon State outfielder Justin Boyd (2A) played a lot of right field for the Beavers because of Jacob Melton, but he should be able to play center in pro ball, which, combined with his ability to make hard contact and pitch recognition, should let him be a regular. As with Stewart and Tanner, he might also be a candidate for some swing work to get him to hit the ball in the air more, and I think Boyd might benefit from a more aggressive approach when he’s ahead in the count. Florida State lefty Bryce Hubbart (3) gets swings and misses on his fastball despite average-ish velocity thanks to its high spin rate and a deceptive delivery, pairing it occasionally with a changeup that could be average. I’d like to see a better breaking ball for him to be more than a back-end starter, although that’s a reasonable floor for him as is. Right-hander Kenya Huggins (4) was Collier’s teammate at Chipola and this summer for Cotuit on Cape Cod. He’s been up to 96 mph and can show a wipeout slider, coming from a high slot with a rough delivery that hurts his command. That slider is sharp but it’s been mostly a chase pitch for him and I’d like to see him land it more for strikes.
Virginia Tech catcher Cade Hunter (5), son of Mariners scouting director Scott Hunter, recovered from a broken hamate bone in 2021, to hit 17 homers this spring. He’s a solid enough defender to stay back there and makes a lot of hard contact from the left side, swinging and missing a little more than you’d like but otherwise showing at least a good backup floor. I can’t believe he lasted this long in the draft, especially since he was pretty well-known to scouts between his father and that loaded Virginia Tech lineup. Georgia Tech right-hander Zach Maxwell (6) shows two plus or better pitches, with a fastball that hit 101 mph this spring and a wipeout slider, but he walks way too many guys and doesn’t show a third pitch. If he improves his control he could be a high-leverage reliever; if the Reds get him a changeup or splitter, though, he could try to start. Texas shortstop Trey Faltine (7) will stay at the position, but he struck out 104 times this spring for the Longhorns, only the second time in Division I history that a hitter reached triple digits in that category. He does have some power, but this looks like a swing overhaul to me. Vanderbilt right-hander Chris McElvain (8) was on my first Big Board of the spring but faltered badly to end the season. He has an explosive fastball at 89-93 mph that can hit 95 mph, with two breaking balls that might be 55s, but in his last five starts for the Commodores he walked almost a man an inning. And in the 11th round, they took hard-throwing Rhode Island right-hander Ben Brutti (11), who has generated good velocity from a violent delivery that will push him to relief.
Keith Law’s National League report card
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The Athletic selects the most intriguing draft pick from each team
Reds draft bonus pool
$10,794,100 — seventh-largest bonus pool in this draft
Source: MLB.com
Reds draft picks with top-10 round slot values
(bonus information from MLB.com)
Round 1, Pick No. 18: Cam Collier, 3B, Chipola College (signed: $5,000,000 / slot value: $3,657,900)
Scouting Report: Collier is one of the youngest players in this draft class, as he won’t turn 18 until November, but he pulled a Bryce Harper by leaving high school after his sophomore year to attend Chipola College, one of the best junior college baseball programs in the country. It is paying off, as he’s hitting for average and getting on base this spring with solid power production despite being the youngest player on the Chipola roster and younger than every pitcher he’s faced. Collier, whose father Lou played in the majors for several years as an extra outfielder, is 6-foot-2 and may still grow a little with a ton of room to fill out. He’s a third baseman now and good enough to stay there with a 70 arm and the agility to handle the position as the game speeds up. At the plate, he’s more than held his own against much better pitching than what he saw in high school; he’s had some expected issues with breaking stuff but also shown he can adjust to some of those pitches and stay back to take them the other way. He needs to add some more strength to better control the barrel as well as make harder contact, as his hands work well enough at the plate for him to be a plus hitter with average power. He’s committed to Louisville but should be a top-five pick in the draft.
Round 1, Pick No. 32: Sal Stewart, 3B/1B, Westminster Christian High (Miami) (signed: $2,100,000 / slot value: $2,371,800 — compensation for losing Nick Castellanos in FA)
Scouting Report: Stewart is a Vandy commit with one of the best hit tools in the class, although right now that’s probably all he has in his favor, with power still a projection and no position other than first – he played third in high school but scouts give him zero chance to stay there. He has a super quiet approach and great pitch recognition. He doesn’t miss breaking stuff at all and rarely chases out of the zone. The approach might be too quiet, as he doesn’t get a ton of leverage in his swing or generate power from his lower half, so while he looks like a 25-30 homer player down the road thanks to his 6-foot-3, 215 pound frame, there’s probably some swing work to do to get him there. Plenty of teams believe they can take a guy who can hit and add power; Stewart might be the best player in this draft for that sort of program.
Round 2, Pick No. 55: Logan Tanner, C, Mississippi St. (signed: $1,030,000 / slot value: $1,373,300)
Scouting Report: Tanner is one of the best pure defensive catchers in the draft, with a powerful and accurate arm to boot. He has a high floor as a Reese McGuire-type backup. Whether he can be more will depend on his bat, and this year, he didn’t do enough as a hitter to answer that question. Tanner’s swing is very flat, short to the ball, but without much power or loft to it, so as a result, he hits the ball on the ground too often, and doesn’t make a lot of hard contact. No one doubts his ability to be an asset behind the plate. Could someone see Will Smith potential here, adjusting his swing to try to get to more power?
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CBA Round B, Pick No. 73: Justin Boyd, OF, Oregon State (signed: $847,500 / slot value: $901,300)
Scouting Report: Oregon State outfielder Justin Boyd is a plus runner with good bat speed, lacking much loft in his swing for power but making hard enough contact to let his speed play. He has some pitch recognition skills already but can get a little passive when he’s ahead in the count. He played some center for Oregon State but often moved to a corner for Jacob Melton. As long as he stays in center, he has a good chance to be a regular, even without more power. I do wonder if he’s a candidate for a swing change just to get him to put the ball in the air more often, even with his speed.
Round 3, Pick No. 94: Bryce Hubbart, LHP, Florida State (signed: $522,500 / slot value: $649,900)
Scouting Report: Hubbart is a strike-thrower with huge spin on an upper-80s fastball and a deceptive delivery, but he lacks an above-average second pitch and has little margin for error given his current velocity.
Round 4, Pick No. 123: Kenya Huggins, P, Chipola College (FL) (signed: $407, 500 / slot value: $488,300)
Round 5, Pick No. 153: Cade Hunter, C, Virginia Tech (signed: $362,100 / slot value: $364,400)
Scouting Report: The son of Mariners scouting director Scott Hunter, Cade barely played for his first two years in Blacksburg due to the pandemic and a broken hamate bone, but went off this year with a .330/.440/.637 line, including 17 bombs, for a loaded Virginia Tech lineup that had seven hitters with at least 12 homers each. He’s a left-handed hitter who did just about all of his damage against right-handers, putting the ball in play enough against lefties but with no juice, and he crushed fastballs while faring worse against all other pitch types, including 40 percent whiff rates against sliders and changeups. He’s an adequate receiver with an average arm, while scouts think he has the makeup and agility to stay back there. Thanks to high exit velocities, there’s reason to think he’ll maintain this power in pro ball, and he has a solid floor as a power-over-hit backup.
Round 6, Pick No. 183: Zach Maxwell, RHP, Georgia Tech (signed: $222,500 / slot value: $279,700)
Scouting Report: Maxwell walked a man an inning through the end of March, but he’s been a different guy since the start of April, throwing 65 percent of his pitches for strikes, with a mid-90s fastball and plus slider. He does need a third pitch and still walks more guys than he should, but the improvement is enough for someone to try to make him a starter in pro ball.
Rd. 7, Pick No. 213: Trey Faltine, SS, Texas (signed: $200,000 / slot value: $218,800)
Rd. 8, Pick No. 243: Chris McElvain, RHP, Vanderbilt (signed: $175,700 / slot value: $178,200)
Scouting Report: McElvain’s stock took a hit late in the spring as he struggled down the stretch, giving up 22 runs in 25 2/3 innings in his five SEC starts, with 20 walks and 22 strikeouts in that span. His fastball is 89-93, up to 95, but explodes in the zone, and both his slider and changeup can be above-average pitches, with the slider maybe even plus at its best, and he can repeat his delivery well enough to have average or better command — but he doesn’t have it, or even have average control. He definitely has real starter upside, but the way he pitched this April and May showed his floor is probably more like a Double-A starter.
Round 9, Pick No. 273: Rob Hensey, LHP, Monmouth University (signed: $47,500 / slot value: $160,300)
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Round 10, Pick No. 303: Brody Jessee, RHP, Gonzaga (signed: $132,500 / slot value: $151,400)
Rd. 11, Pick No. 333: Ben Brutti, RHP, South Kingstown (RI) HS (signed: $405,000 / $280,000 counts towards the bonus pool)
Rd. 12, Pick No. 363: Mason Pelio, RHP, Boston College (signed: $125,000)
Rd. 13, Pick No. 393: Jonathan Harmon, RHP, Northwestern Louisiana State (signed: $125,000)
Rd. 14, Pick No. 423: Jared Lyons, RHP, George Mason (signed)
Rd. 15, Pick No. 453: Adam Serwinowski, LHP, Eastside HS (Taylors, SC) (signed: $125,000)
Rd. 16, Pick No. 483: Trey Braithwaite, RHP, West Virginia (signed: $100,000)
Rd. 17, Pick No. 513: Easton Sikorski, RHP, Western Michigan (signed: $75,000)
Rd. 18, Pick No. 543: Mason Neville, OF, Basic HS (Henderson, Nv.)
Rd. 19, Pick No. 573: Tyler Chadwick, RHP, Iowa Western Community College
Rd. 20, Pick No. 603: Joseph Menefee, LHP, Texas A&M (signed)
Dates, location and times
The 2022 MLB Draft is a three-day event spanning Sunday through Tuesday of MLB All-Star weekend in Los Angeles. The Sunday evening kickoff includes the first two rounds and will be held live with representatives from each team on hand, as well as several potential draft picks and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.
When: July 17, at 7pm EST; July 18, at 2pm EST; July 19, at 2pm EST
Where: Los Angeles
TV: MLB Network (first 80 picks) and ESPN (first round)
Top prospect rankings and mock draft
Druw Jones leads Keith Law’s latest top-100 prospect ranking. And here are prospects to watch outside of the top-100 ranking.
Will the Orioles go with best player available for the top pick? How will the Mets approach their two top-15 picks? The Athletic’s MLB staff weighs in with a first-round mock draft.
Get all of our latest draft coverage here.
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Reds draft preview
What the last 10 years of Reds’ drafts can tell us about how they might approach this year’s draft.
A Q&A with Reds’ new scouting director Joe Katuska.
MLB Draft explainer
How does the draft bonus pool work? And why can’t all picks be traded?
(Photo of first pick Cam Collier: Mike Janes / Four Seam Images via Associated Press)
