Major League Baseball has completed the first day of the 2022 Draft, which aired live on MLB Network and ESPN this evening in Downtown Los Angeles at Xbox Plaza in L.A. Live. In total, 80 players were selected during Round 1, First Round Compensation, Competitive Balance Round A, Round 2, Competitive Balance Round B and Second Round Compensation. The Draft will resume at 2:00 p.m. (ET)/11:00 a.m. (PT) on Monday, July 18th with the first pick in Round 3, and will continue through Round 10 exclusively on MLB.com. Day three of the Draft on Tuesday, July 19th will begin at 2:00 p.m. (ET)/11:00 a.m. (PT), featuring picks in rounds 11-20.
The Baltimore Orioles selected shortstop Jackson Holliday out of Stillwater High School with the first overall pick in the Draft. Jackson, who is the son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday, was the first shortstop taken with the first overall selection since the Minnesota Twins selected Royce Lewis in 2017. Holliday joined Ben McDonald (1989) and Adley Rutschman (2019) as the only number one overall picks in Orioles history. The 2022 Draft marked the second in MLB history that the son of a former Major Leaguer was selected first overall, previously occurring in 1987 when the Seattle Mariners selected Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. Following the Arizona Diamondbacks’ second overall selection of Druw Jones, son of five-time All-Star Andruw Jones, sons of former Major Leaguers were selected with the first two picks for the first time ever.
Eight players who were in attendance at Xbox Plaza were selected tonight, including five in Round 1, one in Competitive Balance Round A and two in Round 2. The players in attendance included Mays High School (GA) infielder Termarr Johnson, who was picked 4th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates; Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada, who was drafted 11th overall by the New York Mets; Campbell University shortstop Zach Neto, who was drafted 13th overall by the Los Angeles Angels; Bishop Gorman High School (NV) outfielder Justin Crawford, who was taken 17th overall by the Philadelphia Phillies; American Heritage H.S. (FL) left-handed pitcher Brandon Barriera, who was selected 23rd overall by the Toronto Blue Jays; Bainbridge High School (WA) right-handed pitcher JR Ritchie, who was drafted 35th overall by the Atlanta Braves; University of Texas first baseman Ivan Melendez, who was selected in Round 2 by the Diamondbacks; and Liberty Union High School (OH) Jacob Miller, who was drafted in Round 2 by the Miami Marlins.
Black players made up four of the first five selections for the first time in Draft history, including Jones (2nd overall, ARI); Kumar Rocker (3rd overall, TEX); Johnson (4th overall, PIT); and Elijah Green (5th overall, WSH). All four players are also alumni of the DREAM Series, a diversity-focused development programming offered in part by MLB & USA Baseball. In addition, six of the first 18 picks were Black (33.0%), with all being alumni of MLB Development programming. Nine players in the first round were Black (30.0%), the most by total and percentage since 1992 when 10 of the 28 first round selections were Black (35.7%). Those players included Jones, Rocker, Johnson, Green, Justin Crawford (17th overall, PHI), Cam Collier (18th overall, CIN), Eric Brown Jr. (27th overall, MIL), Xavier Isaac (29th overall, TB) and Reggie Crawford (30th overall, SFG). Overall, 12 in the opening round were Black or Latino (40.0%).
The history of MLB Development programming for the above players includes:
- Druw Jones – 2020 DREAM Series, 2021 High School All-American Game
- Kumar Rocker – 2018 DREAM Series
- Termarr Johnson – Atlanta Braves RBI, 2017-2019 & 2021 Breakthrough Series Tournament Team, 2017 & 2018 Elite Development Invitational (now Hank Aaron Invitational), 2019 & 2021 Breakthrough Series, 2020 DREAM Series, 2021 High School All-American Game, and 2021 High School Home Run Derby.
- Elijah Green – 2016 & 2018-2019 Elite Development Invitational/Hank Aaron Invitational, 2018 & 2019 Breakthrough Series Tournament Team, 2019 Breakthrough Series, 2020 DREAM Series, 2021 High School All-American Game, and 2021 High School Home Run Derby.
- Justin Crawford – 2018 Elite Development Invitational/Hank Aaron Invitational, 2018-2019 Breakthrough Series Tournament Team, and 2020 DREAM Series.
- Cam Collier – 2017-2019 & 2021 Elite Development Invitational/Hank Aaron Invitational, 2018-2019 & 2021 Breakthrough Series Tournament Team, 2020 DREAM Series, 2021 Breakthrough Series, and 2021 High School All-American Game.
For the first time in MLB Draft history, four sons of former Major Leaguers were selected in the first round, including the aforementioned Holliday and Jones, as well as Crawford, who is the son of four-time All-Star Carl Crawford (17th overall, PHI) and Cam Collier (18th overall, CIN), who is the son of eight-year Major Leaguer Lou Collier.
Seventeen of the top 25 selections tonight attended the MLB Draft Combine in June, including Johnson (4th overall, PIT); Jacob Berry (6th overall, MIA); Brooks Lee (8th overall, MIN); Gavin Cross (9th overall, KC); Gabriel Hughes (10th overall, COL); Parada (11th overall, NYM); Neto (13th overall, LAA); Dylan Lesko (15th overall, SD); Chase DeLauter (16th overall, CLE); Crawford (17th overall, PHI); Collier (18th overall, CIN); Daniel Susac (19th overall, OAK); Owen Murphy (20th overall, ATL); Cole Young (21st overall, SEA); Barriera (23rd overall, TOR); Mikey Romero (24th overall; BOS); Spencer Jones (25th overall; NYY).
Overall, 16 of the 30 first round selections came from college, while 13 high school players were selected, and one no-school player was picked. The state of California produced five players in the first round, followed by Georgia (4), Florida (3), Arizona (2), Illinois (2), Oklahoma (2), Pennsylvania (2), Tennessee (2), Texas (2), Idaho (1), Louisiana (1), Minnesota (1), North Carolina (1), Nevada (1) and West Virginia (1). For the first time since 1971, the top five overall selections did not include anyone drafted directly out of college.
Eight shortstops were selected in the opening round, the most among all positions. Other players taken in the first round tonight included seven outfielders; five right-handed pitchers; three left-handed pitchers; two catchers; two third baseman; one two-way player; one second baseman; and one first baseman. Tonight’s first round marked the first since 2002 to feature five shortstops taken within the top 15 picks. In addition, seven outfielders marked the most selected in the first round since 2016, while five right-handed pitchers were the fewest since four were selected in 1978.
MLB.com will continue to provide Draft Tracker, a live interactive application that includes a searchable database of draft-eligible players with statistics, scouting reports and video highlights. On Twitter, the official Draft Twitter account, @MLBDraft, will provide up-to-the-moment updates and commentary using the official Draft hashtag, #MLBDraft, while @MLBDraftTracker will tweet all picks as they are made.
