2022 MLB Draft | Louisville Preview

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - At long last, the 2022 MLB Draft is finally here. Mock draft and big board season is now behind us, and soon we will find out where the top talents in college and high school baseball will have the opportunity to start their professional careers.

Once again, the draft will be 20 rounds long instead of the traditional 40. However, this is not because of COVID and is now a permanent reduction as part of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement signed earlier this year.

Still, the Louisville baseball program has several players who will likely hear their name called. While Louisville isn't expected to produce a No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft like they did last year with Henry Davis, one Cardinal is still projected to go very high.

Among scouts, league executives and the baseball media, catcher Dalton Rushing is viewed as a consensus top-50 prospect in the draft. Not only did he put up one of the best power-hitting season in Cardinals history, but his defense behind the dish got markedly better as the year went on.

Louisville has produced an impressive 22 MLB Draft picks inside the top five rounds since the 2016 season, and there's a very, very good chance that Rushing becomes No. 23.

After Rushing, the Louisville player who is the consensus pick to be the second Cardinal off the board is left-handed pitcher Michael Prosecky. He was able to rebound from a 2021 campaign that was marred by injury and command issues to become one of the best closers in the ACC. He and Rushing were both invited to the MLB Draft Combine, and will likely be drafted between the sixth and eighth rounds.

Behind Rushing and Prosecky, Louisville has a handful of prospects who are almost assuredly guaranteed to get drafted, but are unsure as to when. The only other Cardinals that are Top 500 prospects by Baseball America are third baseman Ben Metzinger and right-handed pitcher Jared Poland.

Metzinger took advantage of a larger role and had a huge leap in production for his senior season, especially when it came to power hitting. He also held his own defensively, and produced a few web gems. Poland also overcame injury and command issues in 2021 to become Louisville's ace pitcher, and has a solid three-pitch mix.

Outfielder Levi Usher and left-hander Tate Kuehner could also hear their names called at some point during the draft. Usher is an elite defender and baserunner, and did take meaningful strides in his approach at the plate this past season, even if it still left some to be desired at times. Kuehner began the year as a starter, but found more success as a reliever, and could return to Louisville considering he is a junior.

There are some others who teams could take a waiver on, such as first baseman Ben Bianco and outfielder Cam Masterman, but their draft stock is not nearly as high as the six aforementioned Cardinals. If the draft was 40 rounds, they would almost certainly be drafted. However, with half the picks permanently gone, their chances of being drafted have decreased significantly.

There's also a couple high school signees who will likely end up choosing the professional route. Third baseman Cam Collier and right-handed pitcher Jacob Miller are both projected as first round prospects, and are almost certain to forgo college.

The 2022 MLB Draft will begin with round one and two on Sunday, July. 17 at 7:00 p.m. EST. Rounds 3-10 will start on Monday, July 18 at 2:00 p.m. EST, and rounds 11-20 on Tuesday, July 19 starting at 2:00 p.m. EST. Day one will be televised on ESPN and MLB Network, while days two and three will be streaming on MLB.com

(Photo of Rob Manfred: Alex Trautwig - Getty Images)

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