Dylan Beavers and 5 other Cal Bears drafted in 2022 MLB Draft
Cal OF Beavers was the 33rd overall pick by the Baltimore Orioles. Three more Bears were picked in the top 150.
Although Cal Baseball (29-27, 14-16 in Pac-12) was denied a spot in the NCAA postseason this spring, the team clearly had a number of talented players. Backing up this idea was how Cal got 6 players drafted in the 20-round 2022 MLB Draft between Sunday and Tuesday.
With the MLB Draft changing its format from 40 rounds to 20 rounds in 2019, all of the drafted Cal Bears (all of whom still got collegiate eligibility) are expected to turn pro as teams now do not want to waste picks on unsignable. Cal will lose all three weekend starting pitchers (White, Zobac, King) and three starters (RF Dylan Beavers, 1B Nathan Martorella, and SS Keshawn Ogans on top of the graduated but undrafted C Cole Elvis (who will apparently graduate transfer to Kansas). Cal head coach Mike Neu will be filling out a very different lineup in 2023, but Cal Baseball does have a nice recent track record in producing pro players.
Let’s take a quick glance at the Cal draftees.
OF Dylan Beavers - CB-A (33rd overall) by Baltimore Orioles
The top home run hitter (18 in 2021, 17 in 2022) in Pac-12 in the last two seasons, Dylan Beavers had always been projected as a first-round pick. Beavers earned comparisons to former NL MVP Christian Yelich and budding star Kyle Tucker for having a nice blend of power and speed. On the other hand, his somewhat unorthodox batting stance has divided scouts.
As expected, Beavers was the first Cal Bear to hear his name called on Day 1 of the 2022 MLB Draft on Sunday. Baltimore Orioles picked the Cal junior with the 33rd overall pick in the Competitive Balance A round.
You can see Beavers and his family celebrating his selection and what MLB Network pundit thought about him in the embedded video below.
Beavers joins top overall pick SS Jackson Holliday as a part of a widely praised draft class for the Orioles. With C Korey Lee making his MLB debut a couple of weeks ago with the Houston Astros, Beavers might be the next Cal Bear to make the MLB (although 2B Darren Baker and RHP Tanner Dodson could beat him to the Big League).
RHP Steven Zobac - Round 4 (115th overall) by Kansas City Royals
Pitching both in relief and as a starter in his Cal career (and in this 2022 season), Steven Zobac was the first of three Cal pitchers to be drafted.
Kansas City Royals used a 4th-round pick on Zobac who had a 4.09 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. Zobac became the first of four Cal Bears to be drafted on Day 2 on Monday.
RHP Josh White - Round 5 (142nd overall) by Miami Marlins
The top-rated Cal pitcher at the start of the 2022 season, Josh White looked like a Day 1 pick early in 2022 before his season unraveled due to control issues once Pac-12 play started. After being moved to the bullpen, White led the Bears with two saves.
White became a 5th-round pick by the Miami Marlins who will look to teach the talented Cal hurler more control. White got a team-high 91 K in 67.2 IP but also gave up 42 BB to only post a 5.05 ERA with an ugly 1.66 WHIP.
1B Nathan Martorella - Round 5 (150th overall) by San Diego Padres
Selected just a few picks behind Josh White was Cal 1st baseman Nathan Martorella. San Diego Padres took Martorella with the 150th pick of the draft to make it four Cal Bears in the top 150.
In 2022, Martorella is behind only Beavers for the team lead in a couple of key offensive categories (11 homers, 0.424 OBP).
RHP Joseph King - Round 9 (277th overall) by St. Louis Cardinals
The only Cal pitcher to start every week for head coach Mike Neu, Joseph King was a 9th-round pick by the St. Louis Cardinals.
King did not have the strikeout ability of White and Zobac but he had the best 2022 season out of the Cal trio with 3.72 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. Just like Zobac and White, King also got experience pitching both as a reliever and as a starter.
SS Keshawn Ogans - Round 20 (605th overall) by Atlanta Braves
The lone Cal Bear to be drafted in Day 3 (Round 10-20) was SS Keshawn Ogans. Ogans was the only Cal Bear to participate in the MLB Draft League earlier this summer and posted solid stats for the State College Spikes.
The defending MLB champion Atlanta Braves used their final pick on Ogans. Ogans really improved his bat in 2022 and posted a career-best 0.313 BA with a 0.379 OBP.
With six Golden Bears selected, Cal compares quite favorably to the rest of the Pac-12. Beavers was the second Pac-12 player taken behind Arizona catcher Daniel Susac who went to the Oakland A’s. Cal tied Stanford (No.2 overall seed in the NCAA postseason) and Arizona State with six players drafted and trailed only Oregon State (No.3 overall seed in the NCAA postseason). None of the other Pac-12 schools got four players taken in the top 150 like Cal.
Oregon State 8
Stanford 6, led by OF Brock Jones at 65th
Arizona State 6, led by OF Joe Lampe at 92nd
UCLA 3
USC 4
Oregon 3
Arizona 3
Washington 1
Utah 0
Washington State 0
Of course, MLB rules mean that players who started a collegiate career at a four-year college would not be draft eligible until their junior (some sophomore if they are a bit older) season. UCLA Bruins had a lot of talented players who were just freshmen in 2022 and were not draft eligible.
Similarly, Cal will have C/DH Caleb Lomavita back for his sophomore season after he continued to smash in Cape Cod League this summer.
Congratulations to all of the Cal draftees! Best of luck to all of the California Golden Bears in professional baseball!
GO BEARS!
Beavers landed in a great organization to help him improve as a hitter. Keith Law in The Athletic has noted: "He makes a sharp move down and slightly back when he begins his swing, and whether you want to call it a hitch or not, it’s not helping him with timing, leading to trouble with breaking stuff and a lot of groundballs because his hands are moving upwards and he gets on top of the ball....if he can work around this swing issue, or some team can smooth it out, he has above-average regular upside thanks to his speed and pitch recognition." Since taking over as Oriole GM in 2018, Mike Elias has overhauled the Orioles' player development systems, including how the team tries to help its prospects improve their swings. Beavers already has a great eye at the plate, which is what the Birds were looking for in all of their position players. A great example is 2019 Oriole draft pick Gunnar Henderson, who has taken in roughly the same spot as Beavers, but has benefitted from working with the team's hitting coaches, and has now risen to AAA and may likely be in the majors by next year. I'm excited to see if Dylan can have the same thing happen to him.