Georgia Peaches: Druw Jones leads a slew of Georgia players selected on Day 1 of MLB Draft

Five Geogians taken in the first 18 selections; Rocker and Johnson join Jones among the top five selections

Given the consensus of scouts and projections leading up to the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft, Sunday’s opening rounds figured to be a big night for current and former high school stars from the state of Georgia.

And the results didn't disappoint players and fans alike with seven total players who played high school ball in the Peach State being selected in the draft's first two rounds, plus the two compensation rounds and two competitive balance rounds, covering the first 80 selections.

Leading the way was perhaps the highest-profile player from Georgia – and perhaps the country – this year with Wesleyan's Druw Jones being selected No. 2 overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The 6-foot-4, 180-pound outfielder was already in the spotlight as the son of former All-Star outfielder Andruw Jones, who played the first 12 of his 17 Major Legue seasons with the Atlanta Braves.

However, Jones put himself under an even brighter spotlight with his performance as a four-year starter at Wesleyan.

He culminated that career with a senior season this spring in which he led the Wolves (35-5) to the Class A (Private) state championship by hitting .530 with 13 home runs, 39 RBI, seven doubles, three triples, a 1.702 OPS, 33 walks, 72 runs scored and 32 stolen bases, as well as going 10-1 with 53 strikeouts in 41 innings on the mound.

“It takes time,” Jones said in an interview with MLB Network shortly after he was selected. “It's a little stressful at first when you have a bunch of cameras and different people looking at you and watching you, but just being able to stay calm and collected and be able to have the support system like I do, especially here now, and just being able to talk to them about all this stuff, it just helps a lot. There's a lot of pressure that goes into it, but I'm just excited.

“I'm just excited to be out there and able to be part of this great (Arizona) organization. And all the (other) organizations, it was a pleasure to talk to everybody that I got to talk to. Being with this organization means a lot. Hopefully, I can just take the next step. I'm ready to get out there (and) I'm ready to play.”

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the first round came one pick after Jones went to Arizona.

It wasn't a particular shock that Kumar Rocker was selected in the first round, since he appeared in the middle to latter part of that opening round in most projections.

However, the 6-5, 245-pound right-hander, who pitched for North Oconee until his graduation in 2018 before embarking on an All-American college career at Vanderbilt, went quite a bit higher than that after he was taken by the Texas Rangers with the No. 3 overall pick.

It was the end of a long journey after Rocker was selected by the New York Mets with the 10th overall pick in last year's draft, but could not come to a contract agreement before the Aug. 1 deadline amid questions about the health of his arm.

Rocker has apparently put those questions to rest after posting a 1-0 record with a 1.35 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 20 innings for the Tri-City Valley Cats of the independent Frontier League so far this season.

“Hard work pays off at the end of the day,” Rocker said in an interview with MLB Network just minutes after he was selected. “August 1 at 5:01 (p.m. last year) is when it changed. I got to work after that. Then, we're here (Sunday). It was a beautiful process. I'm excited for the opportunity.”

Middle infielder and recent Mays High School graduate Termarr Johnson, considered right up there with Jones as one of the top prospects of this year's draft, was next to go with pick No. 5 to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Mays High School's Termarr Johnson went to the Pittsburgh Pirates with fifth overall pick in the first round

One of the more intriguing stories among this year's Georgia draft class was that of Buford pitcher Dylan Lesko, who was a consensus top-10 projection, and with several projections inside the top five, before having season-ending Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow in April.

However, the 6-2, 195-pound right-hander and 2021 Gatorade National Player of the Year didn't fall too far before being snatched up by the San Diego Padres with the No. 15 overall pick.

“I'm definitely happy to land with San Diego,” said Lesko, who was off to another stellar start in 2022 at Buford with a 8-0 record, 0.93 ERA, 69 strikeouts against just six walks, only eight hits allowed, a .082 opponent average and 0.62 WHIP in 29 innings. Plus he had a .444 average with two homers, 14 RBI, a .470 on-base percentage, seven doubles, three triples and 10 walks in just 63 at bats at the plate before being injured. “I really like the club. I really like everything about it. I couldn't be happier.”

Cam Collier made it five Georgia players in the top 18 picks when he was selected by the Cincinnati Reds at No. 18.

The 6-2, 210-pound third baseman helped lead Mount Paran Christian to the Class A (Private) state title as a junior in 2021, beating Jones and Wesleyan in the process, before reclassifying for the Class of 2022 and playing junior college ball at Chipola (Fla.) College this spring.

In all, seven former Georgia high school players were taken Sunday night, four of which went in the first 15 picks, with Mississippi State right-handed pitcher Landon Sims, who played high school ball at South Forsyth, being selected with the 34th overall pick in the competitive balance A round by Arizona, while St. Pius X grad and Georgia Tech middle infielder Chandler Simpson went to the Tampa Bay Rays with the 70th overall pick in the competitive balance B pick round.

Throw in Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada, who was taken with the No. 11 pick in the first round by the New York Mets, and there were eight players with ties to the state of Georgia selected Sunday.

Those picks illustrate how the state has become one of the top baseball hotbeds in the nation, and it's a situation Lesko, for one, credits in helping his development as a pitcher.

“Growing up with (a lot of) those guys, playing high school baseball and travel baseball against and with all those guys, it's been a pleasure,” Lesko said. “Every day, you're surrounded by someone just as good as you. You push each other just to get better, work harder. We're all striving for the same goal, really. So to have all this talent in Georgia surrounding you, it's incredible.”