Potential Royals 2022 Draft Target: Illinois State OF Ryan Cermak
In this story:
The 2022 MLB Draft is scheduled to begin on July 17 and is permanently switching to a 20-round draft over three days. The first two rounds— plus the compensation and competitive balance rounds — will come on opening night.
Reaching Royalty is a series designed to keep Kansas City Royals fans in the loop about potential prospects to keep an eye on heading into this summer's draft.
Ryan Cermak, OF Illinois State
Ryan Cermak is an outfield prospect that carries a lot of tools. First, he is a good athlete and has shown an above-average ability to be able to man the center field position at the college level. At 21 years old and in his third season with the Illinois State Redbirds, Cermak has not committed an error in 79 chances and has shown great range with a plus arm. You can see him show off his range with these two catches against Evansville last season.
Cermak has not shown tremendous leaps at the plate in each of his three years at Illinois State. He only started 13 games —thanks to COVID-19 — as a true freshman and slashed a line of .208/.296/.396 with two home runs in 48 at-bats. As a freshman again the next season, Cermak's line jumped to .284/.349/.553 with 11 bombs and 40 RBIs in 53 starts. A much better season, but still not too much to get any MLB scouts excited.
So far in 2022, Cermak is raking. He is hitting .360 with a .482 OBP and 14 home runs in 28 games, which puts him in a tie for 11th in Division I with at least 7 fewer games played than every hitter above him in the rankings. Then you add in his .802 slugging percentage, and Cermak has developed into one of the most dangerous hitters in college baseball. He has shown off a short swing with a ton of pop and a whole lot of swag in the process.
The huge leap this season has skyrocketed Cermak into being a possible Day One selection in this summer's draft. His growth to be able to hit for average along with power and have defensive prowess in the outfield has turned him into a very intriguing prospect to keep an eye on.
I believe his name will get called much sooner than a lot of mocks will predict.
Why Cermak should intrigue the Royals
Center field has been an issue for Kansas City since the departure of Lorenzo Cain following the 2017 season. It has been plugged with guys that have great range to defend the large area in the outfield of Kauffman Stadium, but there has been little success with those players at the plate.
There is no guarantee that Cermak will stay in center field long-term (as he will likely continue to add mass) but his athleticism gives him a good chance of sticking. His leaps at the plate in just his three years in college bode well for his evolution at the plate through the minor leagues. He has the chance to be a quick riser to The Show if he continues to grow as a hitter and hit baseballs the way he is now.
I believe Cermak is a prospect that the Royals should have their eyes on in the back half of Day One. He could be a productive big leaguer in a few years, which should coincide with Kansas City's timeline in an ever-growing farm system.
