Oregon State Baseball: 2022 MLB Draft Primer

When?

• July 17-19, 7 ET (Rounds 1 and 2 on Day 1)
• Day 1 start time: 7 p.m. ET
• Days 2 & 3 start times: 2 p.m. ET

Where?

• Los Angeles, California

How to watch/track?

• ESPN / MLB Network

Who’s Eligible?

• High school players, if they have graduated from high school and have not yet attended college or junior college;
• College players, from four-year colleges who have either completed their junior or senior years or are at least 21 years old; and
• Junior college players, regardless of how many years of school they have completed

Draft Eligible Players:

• Mitchell Verburg
• Reid Sebby
• Ben Ferrer
• Jake Pfennigs
• Will Frisch
• Joey Mundt
• Cooper Hjerpe
• Wade Meckler
• Jacob Melton
• Justin Boyd
• Gavin Logan
• Matthew Gretler
• Jake Dukart (Transferred to Texas Tech)
• Greg Fuchs (Transfer Portal)
• DJ Carpenter
• Brock Townsend
• AJ Lattery
• Hunter Cope
• Ryan Brown
• Braden Boisvert
• TJ Wheeler
• Kyle Dernedde
• Micah McDowell

Projections/Thoughts:

In my opinion Cooper Hjerpe is the best left-handed pitcher in the draft and should be a first round pick. Jacob Melton dominated the Pac-12 this past season and should also join him as a 1st or 2nd round pick. Baseball America has them both ranked in the 30’s (#34 and #39). After the top two Prospects Live ranks Justin Boyd (#157), Jake Pfennings (#237), Will Frisch (#425) and Wade Meckler (#515). I’d expect all of those players to be selected and a majority of them to sign a contract to play professional baseball.

Other players I expect to draw MLB interest: Ben Ferrer, Gavin Logan, Brock Townsend and Ryan Brown. That’s potentially 10 Beavers that could be drafted, not to mention an incoming recruiting class that is ranked #17 according to Baseball America.

I don’t expect Oregon State to lose a bunch of incoming recruits to the pros, but keep an eye out for names like: Tyler Gough, Nelson Keijo, Gavin Turley and Dallas Macias. If a MLB team drafts any of the high schoolers early and give them a huge signing bonus it’ll be tough for them to say no.

To recap Cooper Hjerpe, Jacob Melton, Justin Boyd and Jake Pfennings should all be drafted relatively high and will more than likely start their careers as professionals. After that there’s probably eight Beavs/future Beavs that will also be selected and after some negotiating will have to decide whether it’s best to take their talents to the minor leagues or comeback to Corvallis. Either way it will be an exciting couple of days watching Oregon State’s stars fulfill their dreams of becoming professional baseball players.