Brewer Fanatic 2022 Draft Coverage, April 14

Shortly after submitting last week’s piece, Georgia prep pitcher Dylan Lesko set the internet ablaze with a dominating performance in the NHSI tournament in Cary, North Carolina. Over four innings and 51 pitches, Lesko struck out seven and allowed two hits, hit a batter, and gave up a run. He had 12 swinging strikes that can be seen below.

Over the next couple of days, I read about comparisons to Stephen Strasburg and prep pitchers who have gone very high in the draft over the last decade. You can read more about Lesko and other prospects seen at NHSI here.

Of course, pitchers are fragile, and earlier this week, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel reported that Lekso would miss his next start due to arm soreness.

At this time, I’m not going to react in any other way besides bumping him up my prospect list. High school coaches, typically, keep the player’s best interest in mind. College coaches… well, they don’t. Assuming Lesko returns to health, there is no reason to believe he won’t be the first pitcher taken.

Chase DeLauter, an outfielder from James Madison, was considered a potential Top 10 pick before a horrible opening weekend. He was starting to help his draft stock before news dropped that he may miss the rest of the season. This certainly won't help DeLauter's draft stock, but a drop to later in the first round may put him more squarely in the Brewers crosshairs.

We’ve mentioned Brandon Barriera in this space in recent weeks. In a year where pitching is light, Barriera is deciding to shut it down early and prepare for his next step. If there’s one school that can persuade top prospects to not go pro, it’s Vanderbilt. I don’t think that will be the case here.

And finally, because it’s never too early to think about next year’s draft - especially if you're struggling to beat the Orioles, Ole Miss shortstop Jake Gonzalez is a dude and may be the early favorite to go first overall.

Only a few changes in my top 10.

Jeremy's Top 10 MLB Draft Prospects 

1.) Druw Jones, OF, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit)
2.) Termarr Johnson, 2B, Georgia prep
3.) Elijah Green, OF, Florida prep (Miami commit) (Baseball America breaks down his game.)
4.) Dylan Lesko, SP, Georgia prep (Vanderbilt commit)(Baseball America breaks down his game.) (previously: 5)
5.) Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly (previously: 4)
6.) Jacob Berry, 3B, LSU 
7.) Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech
8.) Jace Jung, 3B, Texas Tech
9.) Andrew Susac, C, Arizona 
10.) Jackson Holliday, SS, Oklahoma prep (Oklahoma State commit)

MOCK DRAFTS / PROSPECT BOARDS

• Baseball America - v2.0 (4/1/22) /  v1.0 (2/10/22) / Top 200 (3/14/22)
• MLB.com - Callis - Top 10 (12/15/21), Mayo - Top 20 (7/20/21) / Top 100
• The Athletic - Law Top 30 (3/10/22)
• ESPN - Early Draft Rankings (7/26/21) ($$$ - ESPN+) / McDaniel’s Draft Rankings (2/24/22)
• Fangraphs - The Board / 2022 MLB Draft Rankings and Offseason List Primer (11/30/21) 
• Just Baseball v1.0 (2/10/22)
• My MLB Draft (1/18/22)
• Prospects Live v1.0 (1/4/22)