Before we go any further I have to disclaim something. I stink at Guardian mock baseball drafts. I am so bad at it that if I could find one person who is worse than me it would make me happy because then I would know I am not the worst, like I think I am.
I have had my blind-squirrel-finds-acorn moments (2008, Lance Lynn instead of Lonnie Chisenhall) but, more often than not it was more like Ty Hensley or Victor Roache instead of Tyler Naquin or my favorite, Matt Barnes instead of Francisco Lindor.
So, when it comes to mock drafts, I am the LAST person you should be listening to.
In spite of that, here goes, another mock draft that I can put into the time capsule and look back at it and laugh, hopefully.
Guardians pick***My mock draft pick
Chase Delauter OF***Daniel Susac, C
Comments: Look, DeLauter has so many negatives associated with his 2022 season it would not have surprised me if he fell completely out of the first round. We basically have Naylor and Lavastida and then no other catching prospects in the organization between them and rookie/low A ball. Not only was Susac a better choice in terms of his current value/easily realized potential, he was an organizational fit.
Justin Cambell RHP***Cayden Wallace 3B
Comments: Clearly this pick is a great pick by the Guardians if Campbell goes all Tanner Bibee/Shane Bieber. But, as said in my last post, Bieber in the 4th rund was perfect. Campbell in the competitive balance round is a stretch. Wallace fills an organizational need (power hitter). Which one has the best chance to flame out and not even make the majors? Clearly, Wallace. But an organization that drafted 19 pitchers in 2021 doesn't need to draft another guy of the same ilk this high in 2022. While they might be able to turn Campbell the way they turned Bibee, they have a glut of pitching prospects. So, until the Guardians show that they can make SMART trades with their duplicate prospects and not get ripped off, having multiple prospects of the same type is a luxury that a small market club can't have. Thus Wallace.
Parkes Messick LHP***Jud Fabian OF
Comments: So, here is my first stretch pick. I could have easily gone for Jacob Melton or Brock Jones if I wanted a college outfielder. They are better prospects but I like Fabian's RH bat.and the fact that I think there is much more in his tank than the other two guys. A stretch? To be sure but Messick is a soft-tossing lefty. We have an organizational need for both lefty starting pitchers and RH hitting outfielders. It was my thought that we go with the outfielder.
Joe Lampe OF***Jonathon Cannon RHP
Comments: So, in my mock draft we finally get a pitcher here. Cannon has good control and a heavy fastball. In our pitching factory I think he becomes a star. Lampe is an incredible overdraft here. He doesn't have power or enough speed or totally off-the charts defensive ability in CF. What he does have is good tools across the board and good OB/bat-to-ball skills. To draft a guy at this point thinking you can teach him other things down the road to make him more than an extra player (See Corey Dickerson) is a mistake when there were better players on the board. Lampe was selected, in my opinion, simply because he was the best player available who fit the Guardians 2022 mold for what an outfielder should be. That is not a good reason to draft someone this high. Maybe where they drafted Kwan, Tom and, this draft, Lipscomb, but not this early. Lampe is the most likely to flame out from this draft without ever making the majors.
Nate Furman 2B***Dominic Keegan C
Comments: Another draft pick who looks like he fit the current mold of guys the Guardians treasure, OB skill guys, there is a good chance Furman was the best available player who fit that mold. That being said, a better player who fit a NEED (power) in the organization was Keegan. Yes, he may not end up as a catcher but he will likely move quickly as a hitter. Think Yainer Diaz.
Guy Lipscomb OF***Noah Dean LHP
Comments: If you had selected Lipscomb in the 10th round I would have hailed that pick. A reasonable bonus for a flyer who sits in the wheelhouse of our current OF development strengths. But Dean is a much better prospect on paper. His future home is probably in the bullpen but we have an organizational hole for bullpen lefties and Dean would have plugged that hole somewhat and been a much better value at this pick.
Dylan DeLucia RHP***Dylan DeLucia RHP
Comments: In looking over the scouting report I see a guy without a high ceiling but with an easily obtainable floor, especially in our pitching factory.
Javier Santos RHP***Javier Santos RHP
We are down in the 200s of the 2022 draft so now it IS more about who you like than who is a great prospect. Looking at Santos I see what the Guardians like. In my opinion they are swinging for the fences here as Santos could flame out where a more polished 1-2 pitch college pitcher (e.g., James Karinchak) who had a quick path to being a ML reliever can always be had at this point. Still, I trust that what they see in Santos was worth being selected at this point.
Jackson Humphries RHP***Jackson Humphries, RHP
Comments: Again, we are in the 200s and the Guardians get good value with this pick. Santos and Humphries are long-term plays after all the college pitchers we drafted in 2021, which makes perfect sense if you want to keep the flow coming as you have time to develop guys like Humphries and Santos when your ML roster will already be stacked, hopefully for years, with the fruits of the 2020 and 2021 drafts in addition to what we already have on the ML roster.
Austin Peterson, RHP***Austin Peterson, RHP
Comments: I trust the Guardians that they can find something in this guy. He is the prototypical guy who comes in to 'the factory' and comes out a useable major league pitcher.
Jacob Zibin, RHP***David Sandlin RHP
Comments: Sorry, I just can't draft Zibin. I don't get a good feeling about him. It is just me, to be sure, as who wouldn't want a 3rd round talent in the 10th round? But his $1.2 million bonus cost us close to $2 millon as most of this was over our draft budget and we had to pay a penalty. Sandlin was not an easy signing ($400,000 bonus) but he is closer to the majors and I perceive that he may be taking professional baseball more seriously than Zibin is. Again, just my gut feeling but I would love to see videos of Zibin getting ready for ST. Haven't see those yet, although I have seen Santos and others post videos.
Rounds 11-20
Some Pitchers***More pitchers
I can't fault the Guardians for these picks. They draft guys who fit their pattern and I think, after the 10th round, that is a good idea. My only contention is that they are MUCH more likely, based on my esperience with them, to get a good pitching prospect in these rounds than a good hitting prospect. With that in mind, I would have rather they drafted 10 pitchers here (or 8-9 pitchers and 1-2 catchers) instead of the mix they selected. But, as I established above, what do I know?
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