Tag: Druw Jones

D-backs prospect Druw Jones perfectly described what it was like to face Shohei Ohtani

Ohtani was throwing frisbees out there.

The final out of the World Baseball Classic will be an at-bat that fans talk about for years. It was Shohei Ohtani against Mike Trout — two of the best players in baseball history — with so much on the line.

Ohtani won that battle with an unhittable slider to claim the WBC title for Japan. And a week later, Ohtani returned in an Angels uniform to work the back fields of the Tempe Diablo baseball complex. This was one of the few remaining opportunities for Ohtani to get some reps in before the regular season. Yet, it was awfully clear that Ohtani was already in midseason form.

All you have to do is ask Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Druw Jones.

Jones — the second overall pick in 2022 and son of former Braves star Andruw Jones — hit a single off Ohtani in an earlier at-bat that scrimmage. When he stepped to the plate for his second at-bat against Ohtani, the Angels star didn’t go easy on the 19-year-old. Ohtani struck Jones out with a slider that forced an awkward and hopeless swing.

Jones knew he was toast and immediately turned back to the dugout … almost in a singular motion. But you have to give Jones credit because he was a great sport about the strikeout. He also offered an excellent description of the experience.

Even when Jones got a hit, he was in awe of Ohtani’s stuff.

I hope he saved that baseball. I know I would.

Druw Jones’ contract with the Diamondbacks set a high school record

Druw Jones’ reported contract sets a record for MLB draft picks out of high school, and Jackson Holliday’s bonus might eclipse it.

The hype for outfielder Druw Jones has existed for essentially his entire life as the son of former MLB All-Star Andruw Jones. He lived up to this in his high school career, dominating the prep diamond, and is now getting paid in anticipation for what’s to come.

Jones was selected second overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2022 MLB draft. The two sides almost immediately reached an agreement, with Jones signing a deal with an $8,189,400 bonus, according to MLB.com.

It breaks the previous high school record of $7.7 million that was set in 2019 by another son of a former major league player, Bobby Witt Jr., who was drafted by the Kansas City Royals.

Jones’ contract is the full slot value for the No. 2 pick, according to MLB’s Steve Gilbert.

He might not hold the record for long. The Associated Press reported that the No. 1 pick, Jackson Holliday, also has a deal in place for more than $8 million. If it is for full slot value, the signing bonus would be $8.84 million.

There are only three other players who have received bonuses of at least $8 million, according to CBS Sports. Spencer Torkelson received a record $8.4 million from the Detroit Tigers in 2020, while Adley Rutschman and Gerrit Cole also reached that plateau in 2019 and 2011, respectively.

MLB draft: 4 high school players go in top 5 for 1st time in 20 years

Led by Jackson Holliday, the top of the MLB draft was centered around prep prospects.

There has been some consistency atop the MLB draft in recent years: Teams are more comfortable with college baseball players at the top of their draft board.

The 2022 draft bucked that trend. Led by Jackson Holliday out of Stillwater High School (Okla.) selected by the Baltimore Orioles with the first overall pick, four of the first five players were high school athletes. It took until the sixth pick overall for someone who played at university last season to be selected.

It was a trend certainly intensified by the lack of visibility high school players had during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it didn’t start with the 2020 draft. Over the last four seasons, a combined four total high schoolers had been picked in the top five. That number was matched on Sunday night.

After the Orioles selected Holliday, the Arizona Diamondbacks took outfielder Druw Jones of Wesleyan High School (Ga.) at No. 2. Kumar Rocker, who was selected 10th overall in 2021 but did not sign with the New York Mets, went No. 3 to the Texas Rangers. Termarr Johnson of Mays High School (Ga.) and Elijah Green of IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) rounded out the top five.

To find a draft this top-heavy of high schoolers, one must go all the way back to 2002, when four of the top five players — and seven of the top eight — were picked out of high school. Following the Pittsburgh Pirates’ selection of Ball University pitcher Bryan Bullington at No. 1, seven consecutive prep players were picked, a group that included B.J. Upton (2), Zack Greinke (6) and Prince Fielder (7).

The most recent time in which three high school athletes were selected in the top five was in 2017, when the draft kicked off with Royce Lewis, Hunter Greene and MacKenzie Gore going one, two and three, respectively.

With COVID restrictions in the rear-view, players and scouts can travel more. Perhaps those four drafts from 2018-21 were merely a blip instead of a broader shift in mindset.

The 2022 MLB Draft caused all sorts of chaos for bettors and sportsbooks

Few bettors saw Jackson Holliday going No. 1 overall

After whiffing on the top picks in the NBA, NHL and NFL drafts earlier this year, there was plenty of pressure on sportsbooks to avoid going 0-4 when the MLB Draft rolled around on Sunday.

This, of course, presented its own problem because baseball’s draft is the least straightforward of the four major North American sports. Rarely will MLB teams with the No. 1 pick select the top overall prospect. Not if they can get a player to sign under slot value to help spread their bonus pool money out.

So despite being the the consensus top player in this year’s class, Druw Jones was not selected No. 1 overall by the Baltimore Orioles. Jackson Holliday  (+900) was.

And neither bettors nor sportsbooks really saw it coming.

MLB fans were feeling really old after sons of two former All-Stars went 1-2 in the draft

Wait, Matt Holliday and Andruw Jones have sons in the big leagues now?

Are you feeling old yet, baseball fans?

On Sunday, the 2022 MLB Draft began its long progression through 20 rounds, with the Baltimore Orioles holding the No. 1 overall pick. And with the top selection, the Orioles drafted shortstop Jackson Holliday out of Oklahoma.

If that name sounds familiar, yes, Jackson is the son of long-time outfielder Matt Holliday. Wild right?

Not only that, the Arizona Diamondbacks went with outfielder Druw Jones, who is the son of Atlanta Braves star Andruw Jones, at No. 2 overall. Holliday and Jones going 1-2 overall at the top of the 2022 MLB Draft is also the first time the top two players selected are sons of former MLB players!

What a night! Of course, as expected, baseball fans were feeling as old as the hills that the sons of two MLB greats are now making their own way in the big leagues.

MLB Draft 2022: Druw Jones is the betting favorite to go No. 1, but sharps are all over Termarr Johnson for good reason

Follow the money, not the mock drafts

Betting on the Major League Baseball draft is a much different beast than putting a wager on who goes No. 1 in the NBA, NFL or NHL.

Unlike the latter leagues, where the consensus best prospect tends to be the top pick more often than not, MLB’s bonus pool complicates what would otherwise be pretty straightforward calculus for general managers.

The Athletic’s Melissa Lockard has one of the best explanations for how this works and why it matters:

In 2012, MLB rolled out a hard cap for draft bonuses as they pertained to the top-10 rounds in the draft. From then on, teams were given a draft bonus pool allotment that was the total of the slot values for all of their top-10 round picks. Teams can divide that bonus pool among those top-10 round picks however they choose to….

Since the advent of the bonus pool system, teams have gotten clever about how they approach their top-10 round selections. If a team believes it can select a first-round talent in a later round, it may select a player with its first-round pick who is willing to sign for under slot value to save money for the later pick.

That last section is absolutely crucial. And it’s why Druw Jones, the consensus best player in this year’s class, may not hear his name called when the Baltimore Orioles step up to the podium with the first pick on Sunday.

MLB Draft dads: 4 MLB veterans (including Andruw Jones!) with sons expected to go in the first round

Some kids of MLB vets are expected to come off the board early in 2022

I’d like to think by now we’re all used to sports stars of our youth producing children who are ready to take their place in big leagues, but man, it really never gets easier.

Even after Jack Leiter and Vlad Guerrero Jr. and even Ken Griffey Jr., there’s still nothing that makes you feel quite as old as seeing a top prospect walk across the stage on draft night as the announcers talk about what his dad back when he was your favorite player.

We’ve now even reached the point where the highlights of those fathers are in high definition! It’s ridiculous.

This summer’s MLB Draft should be no different. If you’re paying attention to the first round—and fans of the Orioles, Diamondbacks and Rangers really should—you’re going to hear a lot of familiar names called early on.

The future of Major League Baseball is going to sound a lot like its recent past. Here’s a small sampling.

MLB mock drafts: Druw Jones or Brooks Lee at No. 1?

Recent MLB mock drafts wonder whether the Baltimore Orioles will pick a high schooler like Druw Jones or college athlete like Brooks Lee.

With the MLB draft coming up in July, MLB.com has posted two mock drafts in the last two-plus weeks. The Baltimore Orioles have the No. 1 pick overall, but there is yet to be consensus on who they will select; reporters Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis predicted two different players to go first in 2022.

Will Baltimore go with high school phenom such as Druw Jones of Wesleyan High School (Peachtree Corners, Ga.) or college star like Cal Poly shortstop Brooks Lee?

Mayo argued that precedent set by the Orioles indicates it will be the college player. He wrote:

“The Orioles have saved money by taking a top college bat the past two years, so for this first edition, I’m going that route.”

In 2020, Baltimore took Heston Kjerstad with the No. 2 pick and last year selected Colton Cowser at No. 5. In 2019, the Orioles also went the college route when they drafted catcher Adley Rutschman, but that was because he was the top player in the draft, not a money-saving move in the vein of Mayo’s description of the 2020 and 2021 picks.

Lee is a switch-hitter who showed power and contact in the Cape Cod League last summer, slashing .405/.432/.667 and hitting six home runs in 84 at-bats. During the school year at Cal Poly, he hit .371 with 11 home runs and had an OPS of 1.141.

Mayo said the Orioles are “heavily scouting” Lee and DH/3B/RF Jacob Berry at the college level, and  Druw Jones, Elijah Green, Termarr Johnson and Jackson Holliday at the high school level.

Callis projected the Orioles to go with one of those high school selections — Jones, son of former MLB outfielder Andruw Jones.

Baltimore will pick “the best player available, like it did with Rutschman,” Callis predicted.

For what it’s worth, Mayo also appears to believe Jones is the best player, saying that the team with the No. 2 pick (Arizona Diamondbacks) would pick “the best player on the board  … right now, Jones is that player.”

A five-tool prospect, Jones hits for contact and power, has speed, is a very good defender and does stuff like this:

As the Orioles continue scouting, they’ll have a chance to take yet another young star to help on their rebuild. With what will be their fourth top-five pick in a row, they’ll add to what they hope is going to be a strong nucleus going forward.

Top MLB prospect Druw Jones had the coolest response to HS crowd’s ‘overrated’ chants

That’s how you quiet a crowd.

The Major League Baseball season is delayed due to the lockout, but the presumptive No. 1 pick in the upcoming MLB draft is already starting his season. It didn’t take long at all for Druw Jones to make an impact.

Jones — a 6-foot-3 outfielder at Wesleyan School in the Atlanta area — is the son of former Braves outfielder Andruw Jones. And just two weeks into his senior season, we’re seeing how Jones can handle the immense hype and pressure.

Video went viral this week from Wesleyan’s Wednesday night game against Decatur High School. With the crowd chanting “overrated” at Jones, the 18-year-old launched a massive home run to center field. But check out how he responded to the crowd as he approached home plate.