The college baseball season might be over, but Gators fans can still follow the team through the MLB draft, which begins on July 9.
Plenty of Florida players should hear their names called, but a couple of them should come off the board in the very first round. Wyatt Langford has been a projected top-3 pick for some time, and ESPN’s latest mock draft still has him going to the Detroit Tigers.
The Tigers brought in team president Scott Harris to right the ship last season, and word is that the Detroit front office wants a college bat. LSU’s Dylan Crews and Paul Skenes are expected to go first and second overall, so Langford is the obvious option at No. 3 for the Tigers. If Detroit decided to go with a different position, Langford would not last long on the draft board.
The other Gator expected to go in the top 20 is right-hander Hurston Waldrep, who was stellar through the postseason until a short night against LSU. Regardless of that last game, Waldrep did wonders for his draft stock by showing off two true breaking balls and a 99-mph heater.
ESPN has him going at No. 17 overall to the Baltimore Orioles. The battery of Waldrep and Adley Rutschmann could be legendary, but the Florida righty could go as early as No. 12. Should he fall, don’t expect him to last past the 20th pick.
The big question remaining is whether or not Brandon Sproat will sneak into the first round. ESPN has him going at No. 40 as a competitive balance pick. Is that technically a first-rounder? Probably not, but it’s still millions and markedly not the second round.
Florida commit Steven Echavarria is another likely compensatory/competitive balance pick. Florida got pretty lucky losing just a few commits to the draft, but this year could go differently.
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