MLB Futures Game 2022 Results: Shea Langeliers Wins MVP as AL Beats NL

Jasson Dominguez (New York Yankees), Matt Wallner (Minnesota Twins) and MVP Shea Langeliers (Oakland Athletics) powered the American League to a 6-4 victory over the National League in the 2022 All-Star Futures Game at Dodger Stadium on Saturday.

Dominguez's day started out looking rough when he dropped a routine fly ball in center field that allowed two runs to score for the NL in the bottom of the second. The 19-year-old made up for it in the top of the third with a two-run homer off San Francisco Giants right-hander Kyle Harrison.

Saturday capped off a memorable week for Dominguez. The Dominican star also found out he was being promoted to the Yankees' High-A affiliate in Hudson Valley.

Dominguez has been on the radar of Yankees fans since he signed with the organization as an international free agent in 2019. He was given a franchise-record $5.1 million signing bonus as a July 2 signee.

He earned his promotion to High-A after posting a .265/.373/.440 slash line with nine homers, 36 RBI and 19 stolen bases in 75 games for the Tampa Tarpons.

Three batters after Dominguez's moon shot, Wallner hit a scorching liner over the fence in right field off Harrison to put the AL on top.

Even before the game began, Wallner was a standout performer based on what his arm in the outfield looked like in warm-ups.

The AL added to its run total in the fourth inning when Langeliers, who was acquired from the Atlanta Braves in March as part of the Matt Olson trade, hit a solo shot off Jared Shuster.

Langeliers and Shuster, who was Atlanta's top draft pick in 2020 (No. 25 overall), spent time together as teammates in Double-A last season. The 24-year-old was named MVP of the game after going 1-for-2 and throwing out Corbin Carroll trying to steal third base.

In defeat, the most impressive play of the game belonged to St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn. The 20-year-old one-upped Pittsburgh Pirates phenom Oneil Cruz with his velocity on a throw to first base to get Yainer Diaz in the top of the second.

On Thursday, Cruz set a Statcast record with a 97.8 mph throw on an infield assist in the Pirates' 3-2 loss to the Miami Marlins.

Winn came into the game trying to break the Statcast barrier and surpassed Cruz's record by nearly three miles per hour.

This is nothing new for Winn, who is in his third season with the Cardinals since being drafted in the second round of the 2020 draft.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted Winn had more throws of at least 95 mph to first base during the 2021 season than any infielder in professional baseball.

Winn was a two-way player coming out of Kingwood High School when he was drafted. The Cardinals haven't really allowed him to keep doing it in pro ball. He did make one relief appearance at High-A for Peoria last season.

Based on how much better Winn has been as an offensive player in 2022, it's not hard to see why the Cardinals would prefer to keep him at shortstop. The Texas native has a .855 OPS in 75 games across two levels this season. He had a .680 OPS in 98 games last year.

The AL pitching staff was fantastic in shutting down the NL offense. All three runs scored by the NL were unearned because of Dominguez's error.

Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Taj Bradley started the game, tossing a scoreless inning. His command and control weren't particularly sharp, but the stuff looked outstanding.

Emerson Hancock of the Seattle Mariners was the most dominant pitcher of the day for the AL. The right-hander struck out the side in the sixth inning on 17 pitches, showing a big fastball and plus changeup.

There weren't many highlights to be found on the NL side. Winn's throw was the clear standout moment. The entire team combined for five hits, with Carroll's leadoff double in the first and Pete Crow-Armstrong's leadoff double in the seventh being the only extra-base hits.

NL pitchers did rack up 12 strikeouts in the loss, with eight of the nine used in the game recording at least one punchout.

Dodgers righty Bobby Miller, playing in front of his eventual home crowd, seemed nervous initially. He walked Gunnar Henderson and threw a wild pitch to advance him to third. The Louisville alum did allow a run but struck out three with dazzling stuff.

This marks the first time the AL has won the Futures Game since the AL vs. NL format was adopted in 2019. The inaugural game three years ago ended in a 2-2 tie, and the NL took last year's contest 8-3.

Langeliers joins Grant Green (2011) as the only A's prospects to be named MVP of the Futures Game.