LSU baseball has two players, five signees selected in opening two rounds of 2022 MLB Draft
BATON ROUGE - Sunday night was about as rough as Jay Johnson expected it would be.
The LSU baseball coach prophesied last month that four of the Tigers' signees from the 2022 recruiting class would certainly sign with MLB teams. He also believed that two of his own players, third baseman Jacob Berry and second baseman Cade Doughty, were high-level draft prospects who would make the major leagues "quickly."
On Sunday night, the draft turned Johnson's theories into reality. Five LSU signees, along with Berry and Doughty were selected in the first two rounds of the 2022 MLB Draft.
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Berry — the first college player selected — was the first Tiger of any kind picked, going No. 6 overall to the Miami Marlins. The next five LSU players selected were all signees, as outfielder Justin Crawford, shortstop Mikey Romero and pitcher Robby Snelling were chosen by the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres, respectively.
Crawford went No. 17 overall, Romero No. 24 and Snelling No. 39. The Milwaukee Brewers selected right-handed pitcher and junior college signee Jacob Misiorowski with the No. 63 overall pick in the second round. The Toronto Blue Jays then picked a pair of LSU talents with consecutive selections later in the round. Third baseman and signee Tucker Toman went No. 77 overall while Doughty went No. 78.
"I think the draft kind of tells you what your value is to pro baseball, whether you're an 'I'm going to sign' or 'I'm going to go to college or LSU' or an LSU player," Johnson said in June.
Like what Johnson said, none of this comes as a major surprise. LSU had the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation, according to Perfect Game. Berry and Doughty were two of the Tigers' best handful of hitters. Berry hit 32 home runs in two seasons of college and Doughty had 15 home runs and a .567 slugging percentage in 2022.
That's why, in order to protect themselves, Johnson has been aggressive in acquiring talent through the transfer portal.
The Tigers added NC State first baseman Tommy White, who led all freshmen in the NCAA with 27 home runs this spring. They also brought in three talented pitchers to help ease their wobbly rotation — UCLA freshman Thatcher Hurd, Vanderbilt sophomore Christian Little and Creighton junior Dylan Tebrake — and added two shortstops to provide some depth on the infield, in Vanderbilt junior Carter Young and Baylor senior Jack Pineda.
"I'm going to move forward to get us what we need," Johnson said. "I'm not going to let any player, one player, hold our program hostage. I wasn't hired for that."
The losses to MLB likely won't end on Sunday. There are multiple LSU signees who are projected to be selected, as well as a handful of current players, including right-handed pitchers Paul Gervase, Ty Floyd and Eric Reyzelman.
Catcher Brady Neal, catcher Jared Jones, left-handed pitcher Michael Kenedy, right-handed pitcher Jared Noot, right-handed pitcher Chase Shores, shortstop Gavin Guidry, right-handed pitcher Micah Bucknam, catcher Ethan Frey and right-handed pitcher Aiden Moffett are LSU signees who could be drafted and never wear the purple and gold.
Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser and the USA TODAY Sports South Region. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU baseball loses five signees, two players to MLB Draft 2022
