Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello to serve as analyst during MLB Draft

Mike Wilson
Knoxville News Sentinel

Tony Vitello will take on a new role during the 2022 MLB Draft.

The Tennessee baseball coach will serve as an analyst on MLB Network during the opening rounds of the draft Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. 

Vitello will join MLB Network’s Greg Amsinger, Scott Braun, Lauren Gardner, Dan O’Dowd and Harold Reynolds to provide pick-by-pick analysis and breakdowns throughout the night. Sunday features the first 80 picks of the draft.

UCLA coach John Savage also will join the broadcast.

Tennessee is expected to have multiple players picked Sunday. Outfielders Jordan Beck and Drew Gilbert lead the likely top picks for the Vols. Pitchers Ben Joyce and Blade Tidwell also could be picked on the first day.

Tennessee has at least six players who appear to be locks to be drafted in three-day draft in Beck, Gilbert, Joyce, Tidwell, third baseman Trey Lipscomb, and second baseman Jorel Ortega.

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Shortstop Cortland Lawson, catcher Evan Russell, first baseman Luc Lipcius, and pitchers Will Mabrey and Camden Sewell are among the other potential picks.

UT could threaten the program record for draft picks, which was set in 1992 when eight Vols were selected in a 50-round draft. The draft moved to 20 rounds last season and will be 20 rounds again.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.