Blue Springs standouts, alums headline area players, Missouri Tigers picked in MLB Draft

Robert Moore became the first Kansas City-area player to be selected in the 2022 MLB Draft when the Shawnee Mission East and Arkansas infielder was picked 72nd overall in the second round on Sunday.

He was soon followed by Liberty High School pitcher Karson Milbrandt, who went 85th overall in the third round to the Miami Marlins on Monday.

When the draft wrapped up on Tuesday night, five University of Missouri players were selected alongside several other Kansas City-area players.

Here’s a list of the other Kansas City-area, regional and Missouri players that were selected in the 2022 MLB Draft:

Spencer Miles: The University of Missouri-Columbia’s first player to come off the board, Spencer Miles, is also a homegrown Columbia product.

The San Francisco Giants drafted the Rock Bridge High School alum in the fourth round with the No. 136 overall pick.

Miles, a right-handed pitcher, had a 5-5 record and 6.20 ERA in 69.2 innings with 67 strikeouts and 23 walks.

Brock Rodden: Wichita State’s Brock Rodden was the Shockers’ best hitter as a sophomore, leading the team in batting average (.338), on-base percentage (.441) and slugging percentage (.653).

The 5-foot-9 infielder was selected with the 304th pick in the 10th round by the Oakland Athletics, becoming the first Shocker selected in the draft, although signee Ashton Izzi was picked in the fourth round by the Seattle Mariners with the 126th overall pick.

Caden Marcum: Paola High School pitcher Caden Marcum went to the Texas Rangers in the 13th round (379th overall). At 6-foot-5 and 160 pounds, the right-handed pitcher is committed to Tennessee and could still go to Knoxville instead of signing with the Rangers.

His uncle, Shaun Marcum, pitched for nine MLB seasons.

Torin Montgomery: Tigers first baseman Torin Montgomery led Missouri in RBIs while hitting .365. The right-handed slugger was selected with the 412th pick in the 14th round by the Miami Marlins.

The junior from Kirkland, Washington, was drafted out of high school in the 35th round by the Marlins in 2019 but chose to head to MU instead.

Now, Miami has selected him for the second time, 21 rounds earlier.

Joshua Day: Day, a Missouri senior shortstop, was on the receiving end of many of Montgomery’s hits, leading the Tigers in runs with 50 and batting .340 at the top of the order.

The Arizona Diamondbacks selected the speedy shortstop from Natchez, Mississippi, in the 15th round with the 438th pick of the draft.

Nathan Landry: Missouri southpaw Nathan Landry found success in his first season at Missouri as a junior, and it paid off when the Boston Red Sox selected Landry with the 459th pick in the 15th round.

The reliever from Canada registered an impressive 54 strikeouts to only seven walks in 41.2 innings for a 3.67 ERA.

Josh Bortka: University of Central Missouri pitcher Josh Bortka became the first and only player selected from his school when the Philadelphia Phillies picked Bortka with the 482nd pick in the 16th round.

The right-hander pitched out of the bullpen for Central Missouri and finished his senior season with 41 strikeouts in 24.1 innings.

Garrett McGowan: Pittsburg State first baseman Garrett McGowan was selected by the Houston Astros in the 17th round with the 253rd overall pick.

An all-district performer at Blue Springs in 2017, McGowan originally played for Illinois before transferring to Pittsburg State and posting a breakout .408 batting average as a senior after hitting .265 as a junior for the Gorillas.

Drew Garrett: Garrett became the third pitcher from Mizzou drafted when the Phillies picked the Columbia product with the 572nd pick in the 19th round.

He threw sparingly as a Tiger but managed a 1.99 ERA at Johnson County Community College, where he pitched before transferring to Missouri after his sophomore season.

Jackson Lovich: Kansas Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year Jackson Lovich led Blue Valley West to a state championship. The 6-foot-4 shortstop was selected with the 569th pick in the 19th round by the New York Mets.

He’s currently committed to Missouri and is considered unlikely to sign with the Mets unless New York goes far over the signing bonus slot value for the 19th round. His brother Ross currently plays as an outfielder for Missouri.