The St. Louis Cardinals hold the No. 22 pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. These are some mock drafts of who the Cardinals might select.
The Major League Baseball Draft is this Sunday at 7:00 ET in Los Angeles. The Baltimore Orioles will have the first overall pick in the draft, followed by Arizona, Texas, Pittsburgh and Washington.
Druw Jones is listed as MLB’s top overall prospect this draft. Termarr Johnson, Kevin Parada, and even Matt Holliday’s son Jackson Holliday, are also options to be taken first overall.
The Cardinals’ 22nd pick has an assigned slot value of $3,180,600. Here are some of the names being mentioned for that pick:
Peyton Graham: Shortstop, Oklahoma
Predicted by Jim Callis (MLB.com)
Peyton Graham is currently the third-highest collegiate shortstop in the draft behind Campbell University’s Zach Neto and Cal Poly’s Brooks Lee. In 2022, Graham became the first NCAA player to belt 20 homers and steal 30 bases. In turn, he helped lead the Oklahoma Sooners to the College World Series final.
That experience gave Graham more notoriety in MLB Draft circles. Scouts have noticed how Graham went from a high-strikeout guy, especially against sliders, to controlling the strike zone better. He still needs to work on hitting the breaking balls, but Graham possess a swing that can mash fastballs.
With Masyn Winn, Jonathan Mejia, and Delvin Perez listed in the Cardinals’ Top 30 prospects, shortstop is not a need right now. Given Graham’s versatility (he played 3B in his first two seasons at OU), I can see the Cardinals drafting him.