The MLB Draft is two months away, and while the Arizona Diamondbacks are enjoying a competitive start to the 2022 season, they have a high draft pick to mull over.
Arizona owns the No. 2 overall selection behind the Baltimore Orioles, and the organization has plenty of options on July 17.
The Athletic’s Keith Law and MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo on their mock drafts posted last week both predicted the D-backs will take high school outfielder Druw Jones.
Druw Jones (‘22 GA) gets the game started with an opposite field solo shot. Barreled this one right into the wind to sail it out; big tools & offensive upside for Jones. #VandyBoys commit. #UBC @ftbteams pic.twitter.com/XuW9yxg4ue
— Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) June 22, 2021
Jones, from Wesleyan High School in Georgia, is the top prospect on Law’s big board and the son of five-time MLB All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner Andruw Jones.
Law evaluated that Jones has “All-Star upside” due to his defensive prowess, speed and raw power.
Jones is 6-foot-4, 180 pounds and can hit 93 miles per hour on the radar gun from the outfield, according to Perfect Game.
The Vanderbilt commit was named Perfect Game’s Defensive Player of the Year for 2021.
Law noted that the D-backs seem less interested in college bats than the teams around them and will take Jones if he’s on the board.
Andruw Jones’ son is the consensus No. 1 player in the draft class, rising to the top because of the high floor he offers for a high school player as much as for his ceiling. He’s a plus defender in center now, with similar feel for the position to his father, gliding to catch fly balls thanks to strong reads off the bat. He is a plus runner with at least 60 raw power, with strength to drive the ball out to center, but his swing can get long and he can try too hard to get to that power on pitches he should just put into play. He does have a solid feel for the strike zone for his age, however, and doesn’t expand the zone on himself when he falls behind.
#1 high school prospect Druw Jones was drawing “overrated” chants so he casually hit a home run to dead center field pic.twitter.com/wnBbWBfLWm
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) March 3, 2022
The two analysts have different players going first overall on their mocks.
Law predicts the Orioles will take LSU slugger and former Arizona Wildcat Jacob Berry, a product from Queen Creek High School. Mayo has high school shortstop Jackson Holliday, the son of former MLB All-Star Matt Holliday, slated first.