Similar to the baseball season itself, evaluating the MLB draft requires a marathon mentality, not a sprint. The players drafted this weekend will disappear into the minors for a few years before resurfacing, dealing with growing pains, and then finally establishing themselves as major leaguers. This is not the event for instant gratification. That won’t stop us from declaring winners and losers, of course. Here are some winners and losers from the 2022 MLB Draft, with an emphasis on the winners because nobody likes to call people losers.

Winner: Sons of great champions

For the first time in draft history, the sons of former MLB players were selected with the #1 and #2 picks in the draft. A total of four sons of major champions were selected in the first round:

  1. SS Jackson Holliday: Orioles (son of Matt)2. OF Druw Jones: Diamondbacks (Andruw’s son)17. OF Justin Crawford: Phillies (Carl’s son)19. 3B Cam Collier: Reds (son of Lou) Holliday is the second son of the former champion to be selected with the No. 1 pick, joining Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. (No. 1 pick in 1987). They are very good company there. Teams value major league bloodlines, and that was never more evident than during the first round on Sunday.

Winner: Kumar Rocker

A year ago Roker, the former Vanderbilt ace, was the No. 10 pick in the draft, but the Mets didn’t sign him because something about his physicality scared them. Rocker underwent minor shoulder surgery last September, went to an independent league this spring and went No. 3 to the Rangers in this year’s draft. Rocker going where he did was a big surprise, he was expected to go in the back half of the first round somewhere, but good for him. Things have settled down after last year’s disappointment. (Rocker also reunites with Commodores prospect Jack Leiter. Texas took Leiter with the No. 2 pick last summer.) Because the Dodgers exceeded the third tier of the $250 million luxury tax last season, their first-round pick fell 10 spots, so they had no first-round pick on Sunday. Their first pick was No. 40 overall, which they used on Louisville catcher Dalton Rushing. Los Angeles is so good at drafting and developing that Rushing will likely become a star, but it’s never fun not having a first-round pick. This is especially true for fans watching at home (or in attendance in Los Angeles), who have to wait to hear their team call a name.

Winner: The Reds

Cincinnati landed Collier at No. 18 despite being a top-10 prospect all spring, and at times even a top-five prospect. Collier is an exciting prospect because he’s a 17-year-old who got his GED and graduated high school early and enrolled in college so he could enter the draft as a high school senior. Collier has a lot of upside — he’s taken a few against Raphael Devers for his bat — and getting him at No. 18 is a huge, huge win for the Reds. My favorite pick of the night.

Loser: College kids

LSU shortstop Jacob Berry went No. 6 to the Marlins and was technically the first college player taken in this year’s draft. I say that technically because Rocker, who spent two or three years at Vanderbilt, retired from an independent league. It is the first time since 1971 that a college player did not go in the first five picks. In all, 15 four-year college kids went in the first round, the fewest since 2018.

Winner: Cade Horton

Two months ago, Horton being in the top-10 would have seemed crazy. The Oklahoma ace returned from Tommy John surgery in late March and didn’t hit his stride until June, when he was dominant during the Sooners’ run to the College World Series finals. Horton’s impressive postseason performance landed him with the Cubs as the No. 7 pick. He was by far the biggest up-and-comer this spring. The kid was making a ton of money in the Division I postseason.

Winner: Diversity

For the first time in draft history, four of the top five picks were black players. Baseball struggles with diversity, both on and off the field, and hopefully this year’s draft is a sign that the tide is turning. One of the most effective ways to grow the sport and attract new audiences is to make sure every kid sees someone who looks like them on the court.

Loser: Pitchers

Teams are increasingly risk averse and it shows on draft day. Clubs focus on hitters because they are “safer” than pitchers, who have such a high risk of injury. Also, so many of the top players in the draft class were hurt this spring. It was a bad pitching class, and as a result, only seven pitchers were selected in the first round, nine if you include No. 20 Owen Murphy and No. 30 by Reggie Crawford, two two-way players. That’s the fewest pitchers in the first round this century.

Winner: Fans of two-way players

Two two-way players went to the first round! The Braves used No. 20 on Illinois High School junior Owen Murphy, and the Giants used No. 30 on UConn’s Reggie Crawford. Both will begin their careers as two-way players. Crawford is recovering from Tommy John surgery and only pitched eight innings in college, but throws 99 mph from the left side, and has shown some promise with the bat as well. The consensus is that Crawford’s future is in limbo because, well, he throws 99 mph from the left side, but San Francisco intends to develop him as a two-way player. Fun!