The 2022 MLB Draft is now just two days away. The first two rounds will be on Sunday night, rounds 3-10 on Monday and the last 10 rounds on Tuesday.
I've asked around to try to get the latest standing on how UK's commits/players stand, but as you can imagine it's a lot of gossip and hearsay. But here's my best estimation of where things stand.
LOCKS
RHP Tyler Guilfoil
SS Ryan Ritter
MOST LIKELY GONE
3B Chase Estep
SP Caden Dana
50/50
SP Zack Lee
SP Tyler Bosma
SP Cole Stupp
OF Tommy Specht
DH Haydn McGeary
RHP Logan Martin
OF Kendall Ewell
This group obviously has the most names listed. Do I think Kentucky will lose every player on this list? I don't. But I also couldn't confidently tell you who will make it to campus and who won't. My take on the 50/50 guys is they would prefer to sign if the money is right, which isn't a shocking revelation. I always approach it as anyone who is draft-eligible would ultimately prefer to play baseball professionally.
Specht remains interesting to me for reasons I listed in other threads, but it sounds like he has at least one person in his camp who would like to see him in college. That's also the case for Caden Dana, but I think it's more of a given that he'll have his asking price met compared to Specht. If Specht gets a 7-figure offer then he will obviously take it. All it takes is one team to offer, so that's why I'm not super optimistic about him getting to school. But that would be a pretty major commitment to a guy that isn't necessarily a can't miss prospect.
*Any draft-eligible player not listed above means that I don't necessarily expect them to be selected. However, guys like Jake Plastiak, Alonzo Rubalcaba, etc. are probably signing if they get picked or they might decide to sign a non-drafted free agent deal. I don't really know on those guys but in some ways, I'd list them as not quite as important as some other decisions, though that point could be argued I suppose.
I've asked around to try to get the latest standing on how UK's commits/players stand, but as you can imagine it's a lot of gossip and hearsay. But here's my best estimation of where things stand.
LOCKS
RHP Tyler Guilfoil
SS Ryan Ritter
MOST LIKELY GONE
3B Chase Estep
SP Caden Dana
50/50
SP Zack Lee
SP Tyler Bosma
SP Cole Stupp
OF Tommy Specht
DH Haydn McGeary
RHP Logan Martin
OF Kendall Ewell
This group obviously has the most names listed. Do I think Kentucky will lose every player on this list? I don't. But I also couldn't confidently tell you who will make it to campus and who won't. My take on the 50/50 guys is they would prefer to sign if the money is right, which isn't a shocking revelation. I always approach it as anyone who is draft-eligible would ultimately prefer to play baseball professionally.
Specht remains interesting to me for reasons I listed in other threads, but it sounds like he has at least one person in his camp who would like to see him in college. That's also the case for Caden Dana, but I think it's more of a given that he'll have his asking price met compared to Specht. If Specht gets a 7-figure offer then he will obviously take it. All it takes is one team to offer, so that's why I'm not super optimistic about him getting to school. But that would be a pretty major commitment to a guy that isn't necessarily a can't miss prospect.
*Any draft-eligible player not listed above means that I don't necessarily expect them to be selected. However, guys like Jake Plastiak, Alonzo Rubalcaba, etc. are probably signing if they get picked or they might decide to sign a non-drafted free agent deal. I don't really know on those guys but in some ways, I'd list them as not quite as important as some other decisions, though that point could be argued I suppose.
