The Opening Round is completed and the contenders have been separated from the pretenders. Many of the results went with the favorites as the top seeds won an overwhelming majority of the opening round. But now, there are no 16 seeds to beat up and the competition gets a bit more intense.
Here are the Day 2 matchups in the Round of 32.
*NOTE: 2021 stats won’t be included with matchups moving forward, it seems a bit redundant.
You can also view the entire updated tournament bracket here and the original post here.
Day 2 Round of 32
Trout Region:
(1) OF Julio Rodriguez, SEA
(8) P George Kirby, SEA
Breakdown
JRod continues to march his way through the region. Can anyone stop this man?
(3) OF Riley Greene, DET
(11) OF Luis Matos, SFG
Breakdown
Thought this might be a bit of a curveball with Matos being so beloved in the dynasty community. But yet another example of “Don’t overthink things”. Greene looks ready to wreck MLB pitching for the next decade. Matos still has to show his power/speed are just as effective at the AA level and above. As a quick aside, I don’t think Detroit has gotten enough credit for actually guiding their team through a rebuild to the brink of competitiveness. I know they haven’t won anything yet but between Detroit, Miami, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh, who do you feel is the most likely to have won a division title by 2030?
(5) SS Orelvis Martinez, TOR
(13) SS Elly De La Cruz, CIN
Breakdown
Orelvis had the opposite of Marco Luciano’s year. Another teenage SS likely to grow into a 3rd baseman’s build with exceptional exit velocity, Martinez simply looked better and better as the year progressed. Similar to Luciano, I doubt he’ll ever hit for a very high average but if he’s giving you 25+ HRs a year I don’t think it will matter. For EDLC, he played so well that he surprised his own front office. Now I’m curious with how aggressive they get with his development. Considering the yard sale happening at the MLB level, there shouldn’t be many hinderances to him moving up but has Cincy learned from their tinkering with Jose Barrero?
(7) 3B Coby Mayo, BAL
(15) 1B Nick Pratto, KCR
Breakdown
Well the brief Cinderella run comes to an end for Nick Pratto. Is it possible that after Adley and Grayson, Mayo is actually the Orioles next best prospect? If the answer is yes, I hope that he gets a chance to show it at the higher levels very soon.
Rodriguez Region:
(1) 1B/3B Spencer Torkelson, DET
(9) 2B Nick Gonzales, PIT
Breakdown
Tork vs. BWJ seems inevitable in the regional finals, Gonzales was never really an obstacle. It’s great to see a first ballot HOFer like Miguel Cabrera show his readiness to step aside for Torkelson:
Miguel Cabrera took a different tone on one question this year. How much does he want to play first base?
“I don’t know because we want Torkelson in the lineup.”
— Cody Stavenhagen (@CodyStavenhagen) March 13, 2022
(4) OF Corbin Carroll, ARI
(5) OF Alek Thomas, ARI
Breakdown
The future face(s) of the Diamondbacks? I think that Thomas loses here because he’s like Carroll with slightly less upside. If Carroll is a walking 20/20 CF than Thomas appears to be closer to a 15/12 LF. This could change for the better in which cause Arizona would be ecstatic but right now Carroll is just too strong a prospect to be overtaken here.
(3) SS CJ Abrams, SDP
(6) OF Robert Hassell III, SDP
Breakdown
The future face(s) of the Padres? Sorry, didn’t mean to repeat. I think it will be fascinating to see if Hassell continues as a SB threat in the upper minors especially as he fills out. If he does, he’s a serious 20SB threat; along with his above average hit tool, you could have a .280 hitter that grabs you 20 stolen bases…outstanding! But hey, you could say the same exact thing about Abrams. Comparing these two straight up, I think the first player to develop consistent power will be the one to make the biggest impact (pss…my money is actually on Hassell).
(2) SS Bobby Witt Jr., KCR
(7) 2B Nick Yorke, BOS
Breakdown
I do love Yorke’s high floor but we end the same way we started: Can anyone end BWJ’s run to the regional finals?
Featured Image by Jacob Roy (@jmrgraphics3 on IG)