The annual MLB Draft will kick off July 9th-11th from Seattle, WA. This draft class is widely regarded as deep in talent. This class has two potential 1.1 talents, and there is a clear top tier of talent. Overall, this class is heavy on college hitters and prep shortstops early on. The college pitching depth picks up in the second round and onward. While the prep pitching class is deep and immensely talented in the same range.
The MLB Draft Setup:
Day 1: July 9th, at 7 PM ET Round 1-CBB
Day 2: July 10th, at 2 PM ET Rounds 3-10
Day 3: July 11th, at 2 PM ET Rounds 11-20
Media Coverage:
MLB Network (Picks 1-70)
ESPN (round one)
ESPN+ coverage of all three days
MLB.com/MLB app for the official audio stream (rounds 1-20)
Next Year in Cleveland's Coverage:
Draft pick profiles will be published daily over several days until all 21 selections are covered. As always this will be as picks are reported and (more importantly) as time allows for thorough research and write-ups. For more coverage, you can follow Willie and Justin on Twitter: @WillHoo99, @JL_baseball.
Guardians Draft Philosophy:
Until 2022 Cleveland had drafted prep players in each of the last five years with their first selection. The club keys in on athletic middle-of-the-diamond performers and pitchers with advanced pitch-ability and various/unique approach angles. Traits the organization seems to prefer are; athleticism, cold-weather/underdeveloped players, “famous” performers, advanced bats with contact-ability, zone awareness, and young-for-the-class players/pitchers. Look for these trends to continue in 2023.
Current Scouting Director Scott Barnsby took over in 2019 and helped produce four talented draft classes (2019-2022). His focus seems to be middle-of-the-diamond bats and college arms with advanced pitching abilities. If last year's draft class is any indication Cleveland's draft model is flexible, and while they will likely "stick to the script" there will likely be a few selections that kick previous trends.
Over/Under:
The Guardians have gone under-slot with their first selection of the draft in each of Scouting Director Scott Barnsby's previous four draft classes. This will be Barnsby's fifth at the helm; expect another draft class headlined with an under-slot selection with the 23rd overall selection unless someone slides to their selection.
It's noteworthy that Cleveland utilizes a similar strategy in their approach to the international class (and the draft) as they attempt to maximize talent and their draft pick pool allotment. In 2021 the organization went over slot on 9 of their 21 selections. Cleveland followed that by going over slot for 4 of their 21 selections in 2022. Expect more of the same as the club seeks to optimize its talent takeaway from a deep 2023 draft class.
Pitching heavy (again)?
In 2021 the Guardians selected 19 (of 21 picks) pitchers and only 2 position players. They followed that by selecting 13 (of 21 picks) pitchers and 8 position players. Expect a similar strategy with something like 5-7 position players and 14-16 pitchers (these are just projections based on recent history). However, the club's position player-heavy approach to the J15 (formerly J2) international signing period influences their college arm-heavy draft classes.
Top 10 selections & draft pool allotment:
Round 1, pick 23 $3,380,900
Round 2, pick 58 $1,402,600
CBB, pick 62 $1,273,700
Round 3, pick 93 $725,300
Round 4, pick 125 $526.200
Round 5, pick 161 $371,000
Round 6, pick 188 $295,000
Round 7, pick 218 $231,300
Round 8, pick 248 $191,100
Round 9, pick 278 $174,300
Round 10, pick 308 $165,300
Total draft pool allotment: $8,736,700
Subsequent rounds and selections:
Round 11, pick 338
Round 12, pick 368
Round 13, pick 398
Round 14, pick 428
Round 15, pick 458
Round 16, pick 488
Round 17, pick 518
Round 18, pick 548
Round 19, pick 578
Round 20, pick 608
(Rounds 11-20 are allotted $150,000)
Recent Picks:
2022 Round 1 (16) Chase DeLauter
2022 Competitive Balance Round A (37) Justin Campbell
2021 Round 1 (23) Gavin Williams
2020 Round 1 (23) Carson Tucker
2020 Competitive Balance Round A (36) Tanner Burns
2019 Round 1 (24) Daniel Espino
2018 Round 1 (29) Bo Naylor
2018 Compensation selection (35) Ethan Hankins
2018 Competitive Balance Round A (41) Lenny Torres Jr.
2017 Round 2 (64) Quentin Holmes
2016 Round 1 (14) Will Benson
Noteworthy 2023 Draft Prospects:
Colt Emerson- SS John Glenn HS, OH
Joe Whitman- LHSP Kent State
Bryce Eldridge- 1b/RHP
Brock Wilken- 3b Wake Forest
Nolan Schanuel- 1b Florida Atlantic
Hurston Waldrep- RHSP Florida
Charlee Soto- RHSP Reborn Christian HS, FL
George Lombard Jr.- SS Gulliver Prep, FL
Enrique Bradfield- OF Vanderbilt
Roch Cholowsky- SS Hamilton HS, AZ
Dillon Head- OF Homewood-Flossmoor HS, IL