The 2022 MLB Draft is in the books and the Washington Nationals 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 Nationals fared in the draft and much more…
How did the Nationals do in the draft?
The Nats took IMG Academy outfielder Elijah Green (1) with the fifth pick, landing one of the draft’s biggest upside talents. Green is 6-3 with plus power already, projecting to 30-homer power down the road, and plus-plus speed that should allow him to stay in center even as he fills out. He’s had some swing and miss concerns this spring, with scouts asking if his pitch recognition is less advanced than they thought before. That’s the only real flaw in his game, though, and if that was just a blip, the Nats might have gotten the best player in the class.
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Lefty Jake Bennett (2) has outstanding control and works primarily with an above-average fastball/changeup mix, but has a below-average slider and as a result, doesn’t get lefties out as well as he should. He’s probably a back-end starter but fairly polished and likely to move quickly to at least Double A. Tennessee third baseman Trey Lipscomb (3) has above-average power and a patient approach, although he can expand too much with two strikes, and should be able to stay at the position. He’s a true senior who turned 22 in June.
Texas prep outfielder Brenner Cox (4) is a plus runner with a projectable frame who starts his swing with a hand move down and back, almost a hitch but less pronounced, that locks him into a single swing path. He does have some power and as a former quarterback is athletic enough to stay up the middle and perhaps to make some needed adjustments. Baylor outfielder Jared McKenzie (5) is a true centerfielder and 55 runner, but doesn’t have the hit or power tools to profile as a regular, including real trouble against lefties. Canadian shortstop Nathaniel Ochoa Leyva (6) is 6-4 and still very lean, but has the frame of a Corey Seager and will probably be quite big when he fills out. He’s got bat speed and a good swing when he stays back on the ball, but his pitch recognition might be behind his peers. TCU starter Riley Cornelio (7) has the three pitches to start, but maybe 40 command, and hitters get on his fastball more than they should for a pitch that’s often 93-96 mph. Georgia Tech right-hander Marquis Grissom Jr. (13) is a fun name to see on the list, but the draft-eligible sophomore is 90-94 mph and really doesn’t throw strikes. And with a 14 percent walk rate, he has trouble just getting his fastball over the plate.
Keith Law’s National League report card
The Athletic selects the most intriguing draft pick from each team
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Nationals draft bonus pool
$11,007,900 — sixth-largest bonus pool in this draft
Source: MLB.com
Nationals draft picks with top-10 round slot values
(bonus amounts from MLB.com)
Round 1, Pick No. 5: Elijah Green, OF, IMG Academy (signed: $6,500,000 / pick slot value: $6,500,000)
Scouting Report: Green looks the part of a future star in size, frame, and especially tools, with a strong, athletic 6-3 build, explosive speed, and plus power already that projects to 70 in the future. It’s easy, easy power, with fantastic hand acceleration after a quiet start, and when he gets his arms extended the ball jumps off his bat. All his power comes on pitches on the middle or outer thirds, although he can still make contact on the inner third, just without the same sort of impact. The concern on Green has always been his tendency to swing and miss, especially on stuff in the zone; he doesn’t chase fastballs, but will miss fastball strikes, especially up, and can expand for breaking stuff down and away. He has the most pure upside of the high school position players in the class, with 30/30 potential in a true centerfielder who throws well enough to play right, with a bit more risk than some of the other hitters in the top echelon.
Round 2, Pick No. 45: Jake Bennett, LHP, Oklahoma (signed: $1,740,800 / pick slot value: $1,740,800)
Scouting Report: Bennett is an extreme strike-thrower, with a walk rate under 5 percent and 68 percent of his pitches going for strikes this year, working mostly fastball/changeup. He’s 91-95 mph and comes from just below 3/4, getting slightly on the side of the ball to try to get more deception and glove-side movement to help him against lefties, while his changeup has some late tumble and gets a lot of whiffs from right-handed batters. His slider is a 40 without great spin or tilt, resulting in a reverse platoon split this year. Because of the command and chance for two solid-average MLB pitches, he offers a fourth/fifth starter ceiling; if anyone can get him to improve the breaking ball, though, his potential would increase substantially.
Rd. 3, Pick No. 84: Trey Lipscomb, 3B, Tennessee (signed: $758,900 / pick slot value: $758,900)
Scouting Report: One of the best true seniors in the draft this year, Lipscomb led a loaded Tennessee lineup with 22 homers this year, although 18 of them came in Knoxville, where the ball carries quite well. He’s patient and can handle a fastball, with a tendency to expand the zone and chase sliders, and probably more swing and miss up in the zone than he should have if he’s really more of a doubles hitter. He’s capable enough at third base to stay at the position in pro ball, where we’ll see how much of his power was legit and how much was just home cooking.
Rd. 4, Pick No. 111: Brenner Cox, OF, Rock Hill High (Frisco, Texas) (signed: $1,000,000 / pick slot value: $549,100)
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Rd. 5, Pick No. 141: Jared McKenzie, OF, Baylor (signed: $410,500 / pick slot value: $410,500)
Scouting report: McKenzie can play center field with above-average speed, but his bat is light for an everyday guy, with too much swing-and-miss and too little power to make him a regular. He starts with a very wide stance and just gets wider, lacking much room to adjust to changing speeds and doesn’t seem to pick up left-handed spin enough to make up for it. He does hit right-handed pitching well enough to be the strong side of a platoon and perhaps there could be a half-grade more power in there as he fills out, but I see a fourth outfielder/platoon bat right now.
Rd. 6, Pick No. 171: Nathaniel Ochoa Leyva, SS, Notre Dame Catholic SS (Ontario) (signed: $375,000 / pick slot value: $308,700)
Rd. 7, Pick No. 201: Riley Cornelio, RHP, TCU (signed: $241,600 / pick slot value: $241,600)
Rd. 8, Pick No. 231: Chance Huff, RHP, Georgia Tech (signed: $191,700 / pick slot value: $191,700)
Rd. 9, Pick No. 261: Maxwell Romero Jr., C, Miami (signed: $165,700 / $165,700)
Rd. 10, Pick No. 291: Murphy Stehly, 3B, Texas (signed: $10,000 / pick slot value: $154,700)
Rd. 11, Pick No. 321: Luke Young, RHP, Midland College (signed: $250,000 / $125,000 counts towards the bonus pool)
Rd. 12, Pick No. 351: Nick Peoples, OF, Northview High School (CA) (signed: $175,000 / $50,000 counts towards bonus pool)
Rd. 13, Pick No. 381: Marquis Grissom Jr., RHP, Georgia Tech (signed)
Rd. 14, Pick No. 411: Cortland Lawson, SS, Tennessee (signed: $125,000)
Rd. 15, Pick No. 441: Kyle Luckham, RHP, Arizona State (signed: $125,000)
Rd. 16, Pick No. 471: Everett Cooper III, SS, Pro5 Baseball Academy (NC) (signed: $125,000)
Rd. 17, Pick No. 501: Blake Klassen, 1B, UC Santa Barbara (signed: $125,000)
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Rd. 18, Pick No. 531: Brad Lord, RHP, South Florida (signed)
Rd. 19, Pick No. 561: Johnathon Thomas, OF, Texas Southern U (signed: $125,000)
Rd. 20, Pick No. 591: JeanPierre Ortiz, SS, IMG Academy (FL)
Nationals’ 2021 top pick Brady House. (Courtesy Doug Bower / Buford Wolves Baseball)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.
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.
MLB Draft explainer
How does the draft bonus pool work? And why can’t all picks be traded?
(Photo of first pick Elijah Green: Mary DeCicco / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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