Los Angeles Angels 2022 MLB Draft: Picks, bonus pool, slot values

The 2022 MLB Draft is in the books and the Los Angeles Angels made 19 selections. The Athletic has comprehensive live coverage of the 20-round, three-day event, including top-100 prospect rankings, mock drafts, prospect profiles, team-by-team analysis and much more. Find out the Angels fared in the draft and much more…

How did the Angels do in the draft?

The Angels took pitchers with every selection in the 2021 draft, and immediately broke that streak in the first round with Campbell shortstop Zach Neto (1), one of the best college players in the entire class this year. Neto is a definite shortstop with a plus arm, and he very rarely strikes out, all of which would give him a pretty high floor as a good utility player even if he had nothing else. He showed surprising power this spring but projects more as a good doubles hitter with 10-15 homers in pro ball. He has an outside shot to become a star, but that high level of probability is important for an Angels system that has so little of it. They took Tennessee reliever Ben Joyce (3), who hit 105 this spring and also throws very hard. He doesn’t have an average second pitch and has already had Tommy John surgery once. I think you have to push him very quickly, because almost nobody has ever thrown this hard consistently and lasted very long.

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Right-hander Jake Madden (4) was 92-97 mph this spring for two-year Northwest Florida State College, showing the potential for three average pitches with his changeup and slider. He had blister problems this spring, and lost some command as a result. If he can throw more strikes, which isn’t a guarantee with his long arm swing, he could be a fourth starter. The Angels took Auburn slugger Sonny DiChiara (5), a big-bodied first baseman who may end up a DH but looks like he can hit for some average along with all the power. He’s a senior, transferring before the season from Samford, and definitely has to work on his conditioning to have a chance to stay at first base.

Victor Mederos (6) sits in the mid-90s but hitters hammer his fastball, hitting 13 homers off that pitch alone this spring, so while the Oklahoma State right-hander has two potential plus pitches in his slider and changeup, he doesn’t get to them enough. There’s also effort to the delivery including a big head-whack at release, which adds to the reliever risk here. The Angels went for college seniors in rounds 7-10, which makes me wonder if they were going over slot with Neto and/or Mederos.

Keith Law’s American League report card

The Athletic selects the most intriguing draft pick from each team

Angels draft bonus pool

$7,024,300 — 23rd-largest bonus pool in this draft
Source: MLB.com

Angels draft picks with top-10 round slot values

(bonus amounts from MLB.com)

Round 1, Pick No. 13: Zach Neto, SS, Campbell (signed: $3,500,000 / pick slot value: $4,410,200)
Scouting Report: Neto is a definite shortstop who should be a plus defender in the majors and has a plus arm, but he’s really made himself some money this spring with his performance, including just a mere 7.6 percent strikeout rate for the Camels. He’s got the extraneous movement that you need to have to be a top hitting prospect in this year’s draft, although he calms it down with two strikes; despite that, he’s short to the ball and makes high-quality contact, even hitting for some home-run power that may not persist into pro ball with wood bats and better pitching. He’s spent a little time on the mound, but his future is on the dirt, and with his propensity for putting the bat on the ball and enough power to project as a 30-doubles guy, he should go in the top half of the first round.

Rd. 2: Angels forfeited their pick for signing Noah Syndergaard

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Rd. 3, Pick No. 89: Ben Joyce, RHP, Tennessee (signed: $1,000,000 / pick slot value: $701,800)
Scouting Report: Even if you don’t follow the draft, you’ve probably heard of Joyce, who came back from Tommy John surgery with a bionic arm and hit 105 mph this spring for the Volunteers. More impressive is that he averaged 101.3 mph on the pitch, according to data from Synergy Sports, and over 90 percent of the fastballs he threw were 100 mph or harder. He throws that pitch most of the time, with a below-average slider and changeup, and his delivery gives hitters a long look at the ball. He’s a one-inning reliever, maybe a good one if someone can get him a slider that matches his arm speed, but there’s a ton of risk between his lack of a second pitch, his one major elbow surgery already, and the very short half-life of arms that produce this kind of velocity.

Rd. 4, Pick No. 118: Jake Madden, RHP, Northwest Florida State (signed: $997,500 / pick slot value: $512,900)
Scouting Report: Madden is a super projectable 6-6 right-hander who was originally headed to South Carolina out of high school in 2020, but decommitted to attend Northwest Florida State, where he redshirted for a year and made his debut this past spring. Now committed to Alabama, Madden has been 92-97, working mostly off the fastball but with potential with both his changeup and slider, the former more so than the latter. His arm swing is long but he gets there on time and with a consistent slot just below 3/4. He battled blisters this past spring which probably impacted his command, and he walked 11 percent of batters he faced this spring. It’s No. 2 starter upside with a fair amount of risk, with pure stuff and projection in his favor but the lack of track record and his high walk rates against.

Rd. 5, Pick No. 148: Sonny DiChiara, 1B, Auburn (signed: $172,500 / pick slot value: $383,200)
Scouting Report: Sonny D is a large senior slugger for Auburn, a transfer from Samford who has hit 20 homers with more walks than strikeouts for the Tigers, even hitting well in-conference. He clobbers fastballs, can tell a ball from a strike, and doesn’t chase out of the zone very often. He’s also a DH in waiting, given his girth, and hasn’t shown that he can hit decent breaking stuff. He demolished left-handed pitching this year, but if a right-hander can land a breaking ball in or near the zone, DiChiara has trouble with it. He’s going to turn 23 in August, which will kill him in many teams’ draft models, but a team willing to take a chance on the power/OBP skills will get a great senior sign here.

Rd. 6, Pick No. 178: Victor Mederos, RHP, Oklahoma State (signed: $227,000 / pick slot value: $291,100)

Rd. 7, Pick No. 208: Roman Phansalkar, RHP, Oklahoma State (signed: $27,500 / pick slot value: $227,800)

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Rd. 8, Pick No. 238: Dylan Phillips, OF/LHP, Kansas State (signed: $42,500 / pick slot value: $182,900)

Rd. 9, Pick No. 268: Joe Stewart, OF, Michigan (signed: $7,500 / pick slot value: $162,500)

Rd. 10, Pick No. 298: Matt Coutney, 1B, Old Dominion (signed: $7,500 / pick slot value: $152,800)

Rd. 11, Pick No. 328: Caden Dana, RHP, Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) (signed: $1,497,000 / $1,484,500 counts towards bonus pool)
Scouting Report: Dana, a Kentucky commit, has a now build, 6-5 and 225 pounds, with an average fastball at 90-95. Both his two-plane curveball and changeup show potential, but he needs some delivery help to be able to make more use of his stuff. He’s very quick off the rubber, and as a result, his arm is often late, and he doesn’t get as much power from his legs as he could. He has some of the key ingredients for a mid-rotation starter if someone helps him clean up the delivery and make it more consistent.

Rd. 12, Pick No. 358: Jared Southard, RHP, Texas (signed: $137,500 / $12,500 counts towards bonus pool)

Rd. 13, Pick No. 388: Tucker Flint, OF, Chipola Junior College (signed: $132,500 / $7,500 counts towards bonus pool)

Rd. 14, Pick No. 418: Sabin Ceballos, C, San Jacinto College North 

Rd. 15, Pick No. 448: Bryce Osmond, RHP, Oklahoma State (signed: $129,500 / $4,000 counts towards bonus pool)

Rd. 16, Pick No. 478: Casey Dana, OF, Connecticut (signed: $125,000)

Rd. 17, Pick No. 508: Sammy Natera, Jr., LHP, New Mexico State (signed: $125,000)

Rd. 18, Pick No. 538: Max Gieg, RHP, Boston College (signed: $125,000)

Rd. 19, Pick No. 568: Luke Franzoni, OF, Xavier (signed: $125,000)

Rd. 20, Pick No. 598: Brendan Tinsman, C, Wake Forest (signed: $25,000)

Dates, location and times

The 2022 MLB Draft is a three-day event spanning Sunday through Tuesday of MLB All-Star weekend in Los Angeles. The Sunday evening kickoff includes the first two rounds and will be held live with representatives from each team on hand, as well as several potential draft picks and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.

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When: July 17, at 7pm EST; July 18, at 2pm EST; July 19, at 2pm EST
Where: Los Angeles
TV: MLB Network (first 80 picks) and ESPN (first round)

Top prospect rankings and mock draft

Druw Jones leads Keith Law’s latest top-100 prospect ranking.

Will the Orioles go with best player available for the top pick? How will the Mets approach their two top-15 picks? The Athletic’s MLB staff weighs in with a first-round mock draft.

Get all of our latest draft coverage here.

Angels draft preview

How the Angels all-pitcher draft class from 2021 is faring in their first full pro seasons.

MLB Draft explainer

How does the draft bonus pool work? And why can’t all picks be traded?

(Photo: Abbie Parr/ Associated Press)