AP Photo/Abbie Parr

2022 MLB Draft Results: Grades for Overall Team-by-Team Results

Joel Reuter

After three days, 20 rounds, and 616 picks, the 2022 MLB draft is officially complete.

The Baltimore Orioles kicked off this year's action by taking Oklahoma high school standout Jackson Holliday with the No. 1 overall pick. The son of former MLB All-Star Matt Holliday, he set a national high school record with 89 hits in 41 games this spring.

Another former MLB star's son went off the board at No. 2 overall when the Arizona Diamondbacks selected prep outfielder Druw Jones, whose father Andruw Jones was a 10-time Gold Glove winner with the Atlanta Braves.

Two of the biggest surprises of the first round came when Kumar Rocker heard his name called at No. 3 overall, and consensus top high school pitcher Brock Porter didn't hear his name at all until the fourth round.

Ahead we've provided an all-encompassing grade for all 30 teams based on early impressions of their 2022 draft class. That's followed by a closer look at the best and the worst of this year's draft.

2022 MLB Draft Team Grades

Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images

2022 MLB Draft Team Grades

Worst Grades

Dalton Rushing (AP Photo/Kelly Sheehan)

Two teams received a "D" grade.

One of them was the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had just one selection in the first 100 picks at No. 40 overall as a result of exceeding the luxury tax threshold by the maximum amount. The did well to snag Louisville catcher Dalton Rushing, but they were facing an uphill battle going into draft day because of their spending.

The other was the Tampa Bay Rays, who reached for first baseman Xavier Isaac with the No. 29 overall pick. The North Carolina prep slugger was not ranked among the Top 80 prospects on MLB.com (No. 113) or Baseball America (No. 92), and he was something of an unknown against quality pitching after a foot injury kept him from playing on the showcase circuit last summer.

Beyond just that early reach, the Rays took just one pitcher with their first seven selections, which is an odd strategy for arguably the best organization in baseball when it comes to developing arms.

Not playing to their strength and reaching early earned them bottom marks.

Best Grades

Kumar Rocker (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz, File)

The Texas Rangers received the only "A+" grade thanks to their masterful manipulation of a limited draft pool.

They reached for Kumar Rocker, who was expected to go somewhere at the back of the first round, with the No. 3 overall pick and signed him to a $5.2 million bonus. That comes in well below the $7,587,600 slot value for that selection, giving the club more than $2.3 million to put toward an above-slot bonus for fourth-round pick Brock Porter who many considered the best all-around pitcher in the draft before he slid.

Despite not having a second- or third-round pick as compensation for signing Corey Seager and Marcus Semien in free agency, they walked away with two of the best pitchers in the draft class.

The Arizona Diamondbacks (Druw Jones at No. 2), Cincinnati Reds (Cam Collier at No. 18) and Minnesota Twins (Brooks Lee at No. 8) all snagged an "A" grade thanks to their first-round pick slipping below where he was expected to be taken.

The Baltimore Orioles also received an "A" not only for Jackson Holliday at No. 1 overall, but also for stocking up on college sluggers Dylan Beavers, Max Wagner and Jud Fabian with their next three picks.

Finally, NL West foes the San Diego Padres (Dylan Lesko and Robby Snelling) and San Francisco Giants (Reggie Crawford and Carson Whisenhunt) also joined the "A" grade group by each walking away with a pair of elite pitching prospects while picking at the back of the first round.

Now we sit back and wait on the development of the latest wave of MLB draft picks to see who the true winners and losers of the 2022 draft will be.

   

Read 0 Comments

Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation

Install the App
×
Bleacher Report
(120K+)