What to expect from Notre Dame baseball players, commits in the 2022 MLB Draft

There are 616 picks across 20 rounds over three days of the 2022 MLB Draft. Notre Dame commits and current players are expected to take up around a handful of those.

The draft gets going Sunday, July 17, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and MLB Network. There will be 80 selections in the first and second rounds. Rounds 3-10 take place Tuesday starting at 2 p.m. ET and rounds 11-20 get going Tuesday at the same time. Notre Dame’s top commit in the class of 2022 could come off the board by the end of Sunday night.

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Riverside (Ill.) Brookfield infielder/right-handed pitcher Owen Murphy has been committed to Notre Dame since Sept. 14, 2019 — before former Irish head coach Link Jarrett had ever coached a game in South Bend and just a few months after he was hired. Times have changed in three years, and it’s possible Murphy won’t ever step foot on Notre Dame’s campus as a student.

If Murphy is selected early enough in the draft, he’ll likely bypass college baseball and turn professional out of high school. The Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year boosted his draft stock as a pitcher during his senior season. He had four no-hitters and two perfect games. The statistics were staggering; a 0.12 ERA, 0.24 WHIP, 137 strikeouts, 10 hits and four walks in 58 1/3 innings.

He hit .548 with 14 doubles, four triples and 18 home runs. He had 75 RBI and walked 34 times against just six strikeouts. The 6-1, 195-pound Murphy can do it all.

“I’m still looking to be a two-way guy for as long as I can,” Murphy told BaseballProspectJournal.com. “I had a pretty good season for myself and proved that I could do it. More guys are looking at me like that, but we will see come July 17. I don’t know what will happen, but I know I made the scouts question their boards and everything.”

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• What Notre Dame baseball will look like on the field under coach Shawn Stiffler

If Murphy somehow ends up in blue and gold and nixes whatever MLB team drafts him, it’d be a mini miracle for new Notre Dame coach Shawn Stiffler. Murphy is the No. 48 overall prospect per MLB.com and the No. 39 overall prospect per ProspectsLive.com. He’s the No. 25 overall high school prospect in the country per Perfect Game.

Here’s a look at the other MLB Draft options with Notre Dame ties Stiffler and Irish fans have to keep an eye on this week.

Commit David Lally

Lally is a right-handed pitcher and infielder from Grand Blac (Mich.) High. He’s the No. 80 overall high school prospect and the No. 23 right-handed pitcher in the class of 2022 according to Perfect Game. At 6-4 and 210 pounds, Lally has been recorded hitting 95 miles per hour with his fastball.

Lally has been committed to Notre Dame since Aug. 10, 2020. If he slips into the late rounds of the draft, he could end up on campus with intent to boost his draft stock while being a part of something special with Stiffler. Lally’s father, David Sr., has been an advocate for all things Notre Dame on Twitter. He’s indicated his son will be headed to college without explicitly saying so, but it’s all dependent on where he gets drafted.

MLB Draft prospect rankings (high school and college included)

MLB.com: No. 157

ProspectsLive.com: No. 326

Junior third baseman/RHP Jack Brannigan

Brannigan has been one of the best third basemen in college baseball in the last few years. A 2022 Perfect Game Third Team All-American, Brannigan started 56 games at third base and made 11 appearances with one start on the mound. He slashed .291/.360/.540. He had a 7/36 ERA in 14.2 innings. He has hard-throwing potential, though, striking out 28 while only walking eight. With how well he fields and imagining what he could be on the mound when he’s at his best, a team is going to take a chance on Brannigan in the middle rounds.

MLB Draft prospect rankings (high school and college included)

MLB.com: No. 164

ProspectsLive.com: No. 181

Junior right-handed pitcher Liam Simon

Simon emerged as Notre Dame’s No. 3 weekend starter late in the 2022 season. He even started a College World Series game for the Irish. He went 2-1 with a 4.99 ERA in seven starts and 16 appearances. He had 56 strikeouts and 28 walks in 30 2/3 innings. He’s another hard-throwing righty, of which there is plenty of room for at the pro level. He’s 6-4, 220 pounds.

MLB Draft prospect rankings (high school and college included)

MLB.com: No. 215

ProspectsLive.com: No. 133

Commit Estevan Moreno

The No. 223 overall high school prospect in the class of 2022 per Perfect Game, Moreno is an infielder/right-handed pitcher from Hanover Park (Ill.) Montini Catholic. Perfect Game has him rated as the No. 53 high school shortstop in the country. He committed to Notre Dame on Aug. 4, 2020. Estevan has been playing for the Madison Mallards of the Northwoods League this summer. He had a double, triple and home run in the same game on June 30.

MLB Draft prospect rankings (high school and college included)

MLB.com: n/a

ProspectsLive.com: No. 229

Senior right-handed pitcher Alex Rao

As badly as Notre Dame wants Murphy to enroll, the Irish want Rao to stay for one more year. He entered the transfer portal with one more season of eligibility remaining on July 1. He had the second most pitching appearances (25) of any Irish hurler in 2022. He finished the year with a 3-1 record and a 3.83 ERA in 47 innings of relief. He had 57 strikeouts and 28 walks. Opposing batters hit .188 off him, which was tied with Simon for the best mark on the team.

MLB Draft prospect rankings (high school and college included)

MLB.com: n/a

ProspectsLive.com: No. 354

Other Notre Dame MLB Draft notes

• The casual fan might be wondering, “Where’s the guy who went 10-3 with a 2.81 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 109 innings?” Left-handed ace John Michael Bertrand isn’t a prime MLB Draft prospect because of his age. He turned 24 in February. It typically takes years for a draftee to pitch for the first time in the majors. Bertrand is likely too old for organizations to want to develop him considering he might be 30 by the time he’s MLB-ready, if ever.

• Right-handed pitcher Austin Temple entered the transfer portal this offseason. If the graduate senior isn’t drafted, he’ll have a chance to be a sixth-year senior at the college level in 2023. Notre Dame could definitely use his services for a second season. As the Irish’s No. 2 starter, Temple went 4-1 with a 3.50 ERA. He had 87 strikeouts in 69 1/3 innings.