It would have been hard to top the Canton Longshoremen 2021 draft.  Fortunately for draft mavens, but unfortunately for Longshoremen fans, the Longshoremen front office didn’t even try to pass off the 2022 draft as anything other than a disappointment.  Couple an uncharacteristically good 2021 season with a snafu with the #18 overall pick, and four less picks in the first five rounds than the historic ’21 draft day, and you have a recipe for disappointment. If there’s one bright spot, it’s a surprisingly strong late round game, with the Longshoremen picking a handful of starting pitchers that have upside.

A toolsy high school shortstop with a spotty track record was an uncharacteristic pick for Canton with the #18 overall pick.  Sources say the guy the Longshoremen thought they wanted was Arizona State SS/3B Antonio Correa, who went two picks later to the Charleston Statesmen.  It’s unclear what was going on in the Canton war room when the mix-up was made. Still, the 19-year old who goes by Dracula is a nice consolation prize – he profiles to be a prototypical leadoff hitter who can pick it at shortstop.  Scouts love his makeup, too.

Logan’s power profile was too hard to pass up when the Longshoremen’s spot came up in the second round.  Although he only played one year at Rutgers, Logan flashed plus-plus leather in LF and added plus power.  He was the playoff series MVP of the SS-A Akutan Island Eagles’ first two postseason series, slugging 2 HR in 14 postseason games.  If Logan can make enough contact, his combination of speed and power would play well in Svab Memorial Stadium.

Brown, a tweener OF, was an odd pick for a third rounder.  The Longshoremen brass realized that too, and broke off negotiations early when Brown proved to be a hard sign.  The right-handed hitting CF failed to hit a home run during his college career.

Another corner outfielder from the Midwest, another failure to sign.  Davis had a solid career for the Astronauts, turning in a career line of 305/347/459.

Tamura was a four year starter for the Waseda Bear.  He is a defensive whiz in centerfield who will have to improve offensively to ever see a PEBA field without buying a ticket.  Scouts like Tamura’s work ethic, speed, and defensive abilities.  While he doesn’t profile as a power hitter, the Longshoremen organization believe that his swing is one that can add power.

A Notre Dame signee, the Canadian high school closer made it clear early on that he would not sign with the Longshoremen.  That’s three out of four picks that the Longshoremen front office failed to sign.  As a sixth rounder, Ladd’s refusal to turn pro is the first non-signee that didn’t garner a compensatory pick for the Longshoremen.

Last season’s 7^th player picked, Bryan Metcalf, has already made 8 starts, 5 of them quality starts, at AA Youngstown.   This season’s 7^th player picked, Sugimoto, hit 217/265/236 in short season ball.  That sums up the Longshoremen’s 2022 draft better than any other comparison could.  Sugimoto is organizational fodder for an organization that ran short on middle infielders all season long.

A solid swingman for the Bishops, Miyazaki has a solid three-pitch repertoire that induces groundballs, but mechanics that make it hard for him to consistently find the strike zone.  He’s been a solid performer through his collegiate career, and continued that with a 3.25 ERA in 20 appearances (8 starts) for Akutan Island.  If things break right, he could spend some time as a fifth starter in PEBA. 

Awarded a fifth year of college eligibility after being drafted in the 8^th round a year ago by the Yuma Bulldozers, Catron made the most of his senior-plus season for the Chili Peppers, making a career high 13 starts, and recording a 1-4 record with a 4.32 ERA. A right-hander with a 5-pitch repertoire, Catron excelled in his first professional season despite his unimpressive draft spot and being bumped immediately to full season A-Ball in Middle Bass, going 4-3 with a 2.51 ERA in 12 starts.  He has some projectability and could luck his way into a little bit of a career as a fifth starter.

This pick is all projectability, as Baur is a college player without any earth-shattering skills, but a good work ethic and two pitches with major league potential, a four-seam fastball and a forkball. He shows a changeup,  but most believe that professional pitching  coaches will have him ditch those efforts, as his 89-91 mph fastball make a changeup a dicey proposition.  That makes him a relief prospect rather than a starting prospect.

Another late round pick, another fringy college starting pitcher.  This one, however, is coming off of the best twelve months of pitching of his life, after a senior season for the Citrus that saw him burst into the Friday night starter role after two undistinguished years coming out of the bullpen, and a professional debut that saw him dominate the Aleutian league’s hitters out of the pen. Smith is a scout’s dream, with a legendary work ethic and a personality that has teammates raving about his character.  If any of these late round picks are worth watching, Smith might be it.

Smith’s Citrus teammate and rotation mate, Thompson didn’t have Smith’s success in his senior season, but was every bit Smith’s equal in the Akutan Island bullpen, even earning a promotion to full season Middle Bass at the end of the season.  Thompson probably is what he is, and will go as far as his three-pith repertoire can take him. With Miyazaki, Catron, Baur, Smith, and Thompson, the Longshoremen had a strong run of five college pitchers who have low ceilings, but could be fast movers and contributors in a PEBA bullpen or at the back end of a rotation.

With their third straight pick of taking a boring name – Ron Smith? Robin Thompson? Tom Johnson? What, John Doe wasn’t available? – the Longshoremen at least switched positions, popping a high school centerfielder, although one that was drafted as a CF/P. Johnson is a long shot ever to make a PEBA roster, despite a solid debut for Akutan Island.  He’s a raw hitter and outfielder.  If you squint, you can see an empty-average hitter with gap power. His ability to stick in CF is in question.

Keeping the South Florida theme, Don Lee’s outrageous bonus demands as a pick in the PEBA draft’s penultimate round means he’ll take the roster spot of Ron Smith or Robin Thompson for the Citrus.  He profiled as a raw reliever.  Who knows what four years of college will mean for the 6-2, 220 pound 18 year old.

Did the Longshoremen only scout south Florida this year? That’s four out of five picks spent pitchers who practiced their fare south of the 28^th parallel. Oleson went 10-0 as a high school senior.  He has a live arm but little idea where his fastball, curve, or changeup are going. He has a slingy arm motion that hides the ball well, which contributes to both his control problems and his deception.  That arm motion is why some scouts think his changeup will eventually play up to be his best pitch.  If he doesn’t stop walking more people than he strikes out, however, his changeup potential won’t matter.