Early Look at Potential Top Reserve Draft Picks in 2023

The race for the three Wild Card spots is as hot as ever with 10 Franchises actively pursuing upgrades and believing they have a Playoff-caliber roster this season. The consolation prize for finishing in 7th place will be the first overall selection in the 2023 RDBL Reserve Draft.

In the latest MLB Pipeline Top 100 Prospect List update, only 23 prospects are current RDBL Free Agents while sixteen prospects selected in Sunday's MLB Draft were already on RDBL Rosters.

Four 1st Rounds picks have already been dealt as the St. Joseph Jokers, Cloverdale Clovers, Spokane Fightin' Fish and Idaho Taters all hold a pair of picks among the first 15 selections.

RHP Cade Horton, Cubs

No one’s stock rose more in the last month of the amateur season than Cade Horton, who changed the shape of his breaking ball and went on a tear in the postseason with a two-pitch combo. He missed 2021 with Tommy John surgery, and is primarily a two-pitch guy with limited experience as a starter – he was a two-way guy, playing short and pitching in relief, until moving into Oklahoma’s rotation partway through this season. He could be just a very late bloomer, or this could be recency bias, favoring what we saw in the last six weeks over everything that came before. Horton was the 7th overall pick in Sunday's MLB Draft with the previous six selections already on RDBL Rosters.

C Kevin Parada, Mets

Parada has been one of the best hitters in college baseball this year, tying for sixth in Division 1 with 26 home runs while walking nearly as often as he struck out on the season (32:30 K:BB). Behind the plate, he’s adequate as a receiver with fringy arm strength, good enough to stay there because he hits so well. With 20-25 homer power and a potential 60 hit tool at a position of permanent scarcity, he offers some of the best pure value in the draft class and was selected 11th overall by the New York Mets on Sunday.

OF Jackson Chourio, Brewers

The 18-year-old Venezuelan has been the talk of the minors with his breakout campaign at Low-A Carolina. Chourio still has a long way to go with many potential pratfalls, but with advanced hitting ability, explosive power, plus-plus speed and highlight-reel defense in center field, he has the tools to be a future superstar.

OF James Wood, Padres

A giant slugger with the ability to impact the game in a variety of ways, Wood is more than an oddity as a 6-foot-7 slugger with advanced plate discipline and more bat-to-ball skills than his huge limbs would portend. His combination of plus power and feel to hit in a power forward’s body make Wood one of the most exciting prospects in the minor leagues.

SS Ezequiel Tovar, Rockies

One of the year’s biggest breakout prospects, Tovar has continued playing fabulous defense at shortstop while getting stronger at the plate to hit for both average and power. He remains overly aggressive as a hitter, but he has the tools to be a game-changing talent on both sides of the ball if he can rein in his approach even just a tick.

OF Alex Ramirez, Mets

Ramirez is one of the Mets' youngest and brightest prospects. He brings a mix of power, speed and defense and hit well enough in a return to Low-A to earn a promotion in early July.

SS Colson Montgomery, White Sox

While Montgomery wasnt ranked among the “big four” shortstops in the 2021 high school draft class he’s been very productive over the first half of the season. Montgomery possesses plus bat-to-ball skills and approach, as well as blossoming power—his max exit velocity in 2022 is over 112 mph. A former standout basketball player, Montgomery is supremely athletic and has a bright future ahead of him on the South side.

RHP Brayan Bello, Red Sox

Bello's situation is reminiscent of Padres catcher Luis Campusano who was on a 1FA/$5 contract but is 50/50 if he will be ready as an Opening Day option at the start of 2023. Bello, currently with the Idaho Taters, has made a pair of big league starts but was optioned back to Triple-A this week. GM Mike Friedrich intends to hold onto him through the off-season as an option, but if he starts 2023 in the Minor Leagues, he could be one of the first names off the board in the RDBL Reserve Draft.

MLB Draft Recap: 16 Prospects Selected Sunday

The Major League Baseball Draft kicked off Sunday afternoon and marked a major day in Roger Dorn Baseball League History as a record 16 prospects already on rosters were selected across the first two rounds.

The Draft was kicked off with Idaho Taters shortstop Jackson Holliday being announced as the first overall pick of the Baltimore Orioles. Holliday was selected 97th overall as a 7th Rounder in the 2022 RDBL Reserve Draft by GM Mike Friedrich and saw his value skyrocket on a monthly basis following the pick.

The Taters also boasted the 9th overall pick as outfielder Gavin Cross in a standout day for Friedrich who announced he will now return for the 2023 season.

RDBL Front Offices certainly showed their prowess in player evaluation, already holding the rights to the first six players selected Sunday as well as 11 of the first 16.

The shocker of the night came when the Texas Rangers selected right-hander Kumar Rocker 3rd overall, a clear win for the Mission Viejo Maulers and GM Chris Ferraro who held onto the former Vandy product from last season despite shoulder surgery. The faith the Rangers placed in Rocker's medicals are a major development for his value as he's likely to be given every opportunity to move quickly through the Minors.

With 16 prospects selected, three prospects remain available with reliever Ben Joyce (Fightin' Fish) likely to hear his name called Monday and Alamo Short Stacks duo Max Clark (HS Outfielder) and Jacob Gonzalez (Ole Miss SS) currently projected as Top-5 selections in the 2023 MLB Draft.

RDBL Prospects Selected in the 2022 MLB Draft

1. Orioles - SS Jackson Holliday, Idaho Taters

2. Diamondbacks - OF Druw Jones, Maltese Falcons

3. Rangers - RHP Kumar Rocker, Mission Viejo Maulers

4. Pirates - IF Termarr Johnson, Spokane Fightin' Fish

5. Nationals - OF Elijah Green, Lake Merced Goutfish

6. Marlins - IF Jacob Berry, Meinert Hops

8. Twins - SS Brooks Lee, Mission Viejo Maulers

9. Royals - OF Gavin Cross, Idaho Taters

12. Tigers - IF Jace Jung, Meinert Hops

15. Padres - RHP Dylan Lesko, Asti Grape Stompers

16. Guardians - OF Chase DeLauter, Meinert Hops

19. Athletics - C Daniel Susac, Burlingame Blue Ducks

34. Diamondbacks - RHP Landon Sims, Mission Viejo Maulers

38. Rockies - OF Jordan Beck, Las Vegas Aristocrats

43. Diamondbacks - 1B Ivan Melendez, Las Vegas Aristocrats

44. Pirates - LHP Hunter Barco, Mission Viejo Maulers

Rumor Central: Ducks, Maulers, Hops and Fish In on Scherzer

A quartet of Roger Dorn Baseball League clubs have expressed serious interest in right-hander Max Scherzer (3/$68) who looks to be the prize of the late trade market for the second consecutive season. The Las Vegas Aristocrats sit more than 200 points out of the Playoffs as of Sunday afternoon, but have posted 290 or more points in each of the last four weeks which has delayed the club's interest in selling.

With two periods remaining before the RDBL Trade Deadline, the Burlingame Blue Ducks, Mission Viejo Maulers, Meinert Hops and Spokane Fightin' Fish have all expressed interest in Scherzer according to sources, while the Maltese Falcons have monitored the market as well.

The Hops appear to be the most aggressive as they look to earn their first Playoff berth in Franchise History. According to sources, GM Garrett Shelley has expressed interest in pairing Scherzer with pending Free Agent Marcus Semien (3/$3) who is averaging 20 points per week over the last three periods.

Around the RDBL

- The Honolulu Hammerheads lost of pair of key players Sunday morning as both Chris Sale and Harold Ramirez suffered broken hands that will sideline them for the foreseeable future. While it certainly dents their Playoff plans, GM Ross Horiuchi has a sizable group of expiring contracts with Jacob deGrom expected back in the next 10 days. The thought of deGrom not making a start (or even just 1-2) for the Heads seems implausible, though he could join Corbin Burnes (3R/$5), Nate Lowe (2FA/$5), Byron Buxton (3/$7) and Carlos Rodon (2FA/$5) as potentially title altering trade candidates before the August 1st deadline.

Horiuchi has already dealt away the club's top two prospects (Josh Lowe and Michael Busch) as well as their 1st and 2nd Round picks for 2023.

Given deGrom's contract (3/$68), a potential Scherzer trade could further limit the amount of teams who could afford to acquire the right-hander with the Alamo Short Stacks and Lunatic Fringe already pushing up against the in-season cap. Likely looking for young assets, the Ducks also stand out as a club that might not be able to match up well for a deal.

- The Fringe have a combined -107.0 points this period from Lance Lynn, Michael Pineda and Josh Hader, making them a prime candidate for help in the rotation.

For rotation help, Guglielmi could immediately look internally with potential activations of Triston McKenzie (Minors) or Josiah Gray (Minors). McKenzie is quietly on pace for 500+ points this season.

Without much cap space following the additions of Freddie Freeman and George Springer, the Fringe could line up nicely with the Honolulu Hammerheads for Burnes, Rodon and Buxton as they could build a package around McKenzie, young and controllable shortstop Jeremy Pena (1/$9) and a 2023 1st Round pick, giving the Heads a pair of immediate Active Roster players for 2023 while replacing their 1st Round pick that was already dealt away. A creative potential buy-low on Lucas Giolito (2/$3) could also lead to a potential fit.

- With GM Mike Friedrich now set to return, the market for LHP Jordan Montgomery (2FA/$5) is expected to move quickly according to sources close to the club. Friedrich is interested in assets that could help their 2023 Active Roster according to those familiar with talks. The Fringe, Ducks, Goutfish and Maulers are among the clubs interested. The Heads could also quickly emerge as a potential landing spot following the injury to Chris Sale.

- The Ducks would love to add before the deadline but a shallow Farm System has prevented them from making key additions so far this season. The emergence and big league promotion of Nolan Jones has peaked the interest of sellers in recent days according to sources while Joey Bart (Minors) looks vastly improved since his return to the big leagues.