Three southern Utah names to look for at the 2022 MLB Draft

The 2022 MLB Draft starts on Sunday night, and three players with ties to St. George could be selected.

A pair of college talents and one local star could hear their names called in the three-day event.

The 20-round MLB Draft starts on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, and runs through Monday on MLB Network, with the first day being available on ESPN and the MLB Network. Days two and three are available on MLB.com.

Drew Thorpe

Headlining this year’s crop of potential local draftees is one of the top college pitching prospects in this year’s draft.

The 2019 Desert Hills graduate set the bar at Cal Poly, going 10-1 with a 2.32 ERA and led D-I in strikeouts with 149 in the regular season.

In 2021, Thorpe went 6-6 with a 3.79 ERA, punching out 104 in 90 1/3 innings.

In his senior season with the Thunder, Thorpe went 7-1 on the mound with a 0.54 ERA as a senior, leading DH to a state title in the process.

More: St. George high school star Drew Thorpe now a top MLB draft pitching prospect

Following his dominance on the mound, Thorpe was named a First Team All-American and was a finalist for the National Pitcher of the Year Award, which was awarded to Oregon State's Cooper Hjerpe.

Thorpe is a projected top-60 pick in the 2022 MLB Draft.

Payton Gubler

The hard-throwing right-hander joined Thorpe at last month’s combine and starred at Desert Hills.

Gubler had a 2.16 ERA and struck out 99 batters in just 48 1/3 innings this past season while conceding just 20 walks.

He pitched a complete game one-hitter against state-champion Crimson Cliffs on May 6, striking out 15 and only walking one in a 7-0 win.

Gubler also impressed at the plate, hitting seven home runs for the Thunder. He went yard in three straight games against Union, American Leadership, and Parowan in late March.

The BYU commit was arguably even more impressive as a junior, going 7-2 with a .81 ERA and 95 strikeouts.

"With the draft and its history of shying away from RHP’s 6 feet tall and under, especially at the [high school] level, Payton’s pitch arsenal does have him squarely on MLB draft boards not only with this draft, but even more so in the future, if he can replicate his success at BYU," said PBR's Jeff Scholzen in a message to The Spectrum. "The arsenal is definitely MLB Draft material, as he features a [fastball] that early in the season, touched 97 mph in an (sic) preseason scrimmage on scouts guns. The FB sat for most of the spring season 90-95 and reached 96 in one of my looks. Not only does he throw hard, but the [slider] is 83-86 with late hard biting tilt and his [changeup] 84-86 has late tumbling action."

Kayler Yates was the last St. George-born baseball player to be selected in the MLB Draft.

Yates was a four-year letterman at Dixie High School and was selected in 2019 by the Anaheim Angels in the 31st round. Yates opted to go to school at the University of Utah before transferring to Utah Valley this past season.

Kaden Hollow

The Utah Tech standout catcher was named a semifinalist for 2022 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award, batting .327 with nine home runs and 39 RBIs for the Trailblazers.

Hollow hit .350 in WAC play and had a team-high 30 RBIs against WAC opponents, earning a spot on the All-WAC Second Team.

On the defensive end, Hollow threw out 19 of 45 would-be base stealers.

Hollow was named to the All-WAC First Team in 2021, hitting .322 with nine home runs and 41 RBIs.

In that summer, Hollow suited up for the Green Bay Booyah-now Green Bay Rockers- in the Northwoods League.

In 37 games, Hollow batted .258, knocking in 31 runs on the strength of six home runs.

If Hollow were to be selected, he’d be the first Trailblazer taken since 2019, when Jayden Murray was taken in the 23rd round by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Hollow would be the first Trailblazer bat taken in the draft since Andrew Oldfield was selected in the 40th round by the Los Angeles Angels in 2010.

The program has had three draftees make it to the big leagues.

Brandon Lyon broke through in 2001 with the Toronto Blue Jays, followed by Brad Thompson in 2005 with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Brandon Kintzler made his major league debut in 2010 with the Milwaukee Brewers, and pitched in the MLB last year for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Sean Ellertson is a sports reporter for the St. George Spectrum & Daily News. To continue to support his work, please subscribe to The Spectrum. Follow Sean on Twitter @SeanEllertson.

This article originally appeared on St. George Spectrum & Daily News: Three local names to look for at the 2022 MLB Draft