With the first day of the 2022 MLB draft just three days away now, Jonathan Mayo from MLB Pipeline took another crack at predicting the first round picks in his latest mock draft. The Pittsburgh Pirates have the fourth overall pick and he has them going for second baseman Termarr Johnson, a name that has been connected to the Pirates multiple times this spring/summer. He’s an elite lefty high school bat, who should put up high OBP/Batting Average, to go along with a bit of power.
Mayo has been picking Brooks Lee, the Cal Poly shortstop, most of this mock draft season. He notes that he is still a “strong possibility” here, but he’s been hearing that the Pirates will go the same route as last year, picking a top pick who can be signed slightly cheaper, then spreading around the savings to over-slot picks, The Pirates have the fourth highest draft bonus slot pool at $13,733,900, so we could definitely see something very similar to last year’s draft. Mayo also notes the JUCO third baseman Cam Collier is in play here. Despite being in college, Collier is actually slightly younger than Johnson, and he’s been performing well in both his regular season and summer ball against older competition.
