7 Pac-12 stars selected on first day of 2022 MLB Draft
Highlighted by a pair of first-round picks, seven Pac-12 stars were among the 80 players selected on the first day of the 2022 MLB Draft on Sunday in Los Angeles.
Arizona catcher Daniel Susac was first off the board at No. 19 overall to the Oakland Athletics. Oregon State left-hander Cooper Hjerpe was selected shortly after, going 22nd overall to the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Baltimore Orioles opened Competitive Balance Round A by drafting California outfielder Dylan Beavers with the No. 33 overall pick.
Oregon shortstop Josh Kasevich, Oregon State center fielder Jacob Melton, and Stanford center fielder Brock Jones were drafted in the second round.
Kasevich was selected 60th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Melton, the 2022 Pac-12 Player of the Year, was drafted 64th overall by the Houston Astros.
Jones was taken by the Tampa Bay Rays with the very next pick.
Fellow OSU outfielder Justin Boyd was the Pac-12's final selection of the day, going 73rd overall to the Cincinnati Reds in Competitive Balance Round B.
More Pac-12 players are expected to be drafted over the next two days. Rounds 3-10 and 11-20 will take place Monday and Tuesday, respectively, at 11 a.m. PT on MLB Network.
| Player | School | Round | Pick | MLB Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Susac, C | Arizona | 1 | 19 | Oakland Athletics |
| Cooper Hjerpe, P | Oregon State | 1 | 22 | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Dylan Beavers, OF | California | CBRA | 33 | Baltimore Orioles |
| Josh Kasevich, SS | Oregon | 2 | 60 | Toronto Blue Jays |
| Jacob Melton, OF | Oregon State | 2 | 64 | Houston Astros |
| Brock Jones, OF | Stanford | 2 | 65 | Tampa Bay Rays |
| Justin Boyd, OF | Oregon State | CBRB | 73 | Cincinnati Reds |
Susac is the 12th first-round pick in Arizona history, the highest-drafted catcher in program history, and the Wildcats' highest draft pick since shortstop Kevin Newman was selected 19th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2015.
Susac is one of three UA catchers to be drafted in the first round. Austin Wells (2020) and Alan Zinter (1989) are the other two.
The Oakland A’s have selected Jesuit High School alumni Daniel Susac with the 19th overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. He played the last two years at @ArizonaBaseball.
Here was the reaction from his draft party back home in Sacramento: pic.twitter.com/gJXDHKqnx9
— Cameron Salerno (@cameronsalerno1) July 18, 2022
Susac's selection comes 11 years after his older brother, Andrew, a former Oregon State star, was chosen by the San Francisco Giants in the second round of the 2011 MLB Draft.
The younger Susac was a two-time All-American and hit .351 with 24 homers and 126 RBI in two seasons at Arizona, helping the Wildcats reach the College World Series in 2021.
Susac is from Roseville, California, roughly 100 miles from the home of his new MLB organization.
Just caught up with Oakland A’s first round pick Daniel Susac. Susac graduated from @JesuitHighSac and played two seasons at @ArizonaBaseball.
He told me “(This is) something I’ve worked for my entire life. To see it all come out was pretty special.” pic.twitter.com/vK7tJOjaPS
— Cameron Salerno (@cameronsalerno1) July 18, 2022
Hjerpe became the first Beaver to be selected in the first round since Adley Rutschman was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft.
Hjerpe is the third OSU pitcher to be selected in the first round, joining Drew Rasmussen, the 31st pick in 2017 Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, and Scott Christman, the 17th pick by the Chicago White Sox in the 1993 Draft.
Hjerpe went 11-2 with a 2.53 ERA in 2022, striking out a school-record and nation-most 161 batters in 103.1 innings.
Cooper Hjerpe has unique southpaw arm slot that makes hitters uncomfortable, says scouting director Randy Flores. #STLCards like his durability and stuff (low walks, high strikeouts). Plus, they think he has more velocity to come.
— Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) July 18, 2022
After batting .291 with 17 homers for the Golden Bears in 2022, Beavers became Cal's highest draft pick since White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn went third overall in the 2019 MLB Draft. Beavers made the Pac-12 All-First Team in 2021 and 2022.
A little about Dylan Beavers 👀 pic.twitter.com/voYOjWWubP
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) July 18, 2022
Kasevich is the second-highest MLB Draft pick of an Oregon position player in the modern era. The Palo Alto, California native was named to the 2022 All-Pac-12 Defensive Team and All-Pac-12 First Team after hitting .310 while driving in 44 runs.
𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐎𝐟 𝐀 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 🦆
Congratulations Josh Kasevich on being picked in the 2nd round of the MLB Draft by the Blue Jays.
🦆5th highest pick for a Duck in the modern era
🦆 2nd highest pick of a Duck position player in modern era#GoDucks | #MLBDraft | @BlueJays pic.twitter.com/kEiSyKbQuJ— Oregon Duck Baseball (@OregonBaseball) July 18, 2022
Melton hit .360 with 17 homers, 21 stolen bases and 83 RBI, tying Rutschman for the Oregon State single-season record. Meanwhile, Melton's 175 total bases were the most in program history.
Boyd, an all-conference honorable mention, was super productive for the Beavers as well, batting a Pac-12-best .373 with nine home runs, 53 RBI and a league-high 24 stolen bases.
He's electric, @Reds, electric.@justin_boyd55 is a good one Cincinnati. You have made a very smart selection.#GoBeavs pic.twitter.com/XMuZVtrYQ0
— Oregon State Baseball (@BeaverBaseball) July 18, 2022
Jones earned All-Pac-12 and First-Team All-American honors from several outlets after hitting .324 with 21 homers, 57 RBI and 16 stolen bases for the Cardinal, who advanced to the College World Series for the second straight season.
Jones is the 12th Stanford player drafted in the first two rounds of an MLB Draft since 2011.