It wasn’t as soon as many baseball experts had anticipated, but Alabama pitcher Connor Prielipp was chosen with the No. 48 overall pick to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday night of the 2022 MLB draft.
It wasn’t the first time that the Wisconsin native had been drafted. After his senior year of high school, the Boston Red Sox chose Prielipp in the 37th round of the 2019 draft. However, instead of pursuing professional opportunities, he chose to attend Alabama. He was ranked as the No. 201 overall recruit in the country, according to Perfect Game.
During his freshman season in Tuscaloosa, he had 21 innings pitched while allowing just five hits and striking out 35 batters. He obtained a 3-0 record with a 0.00 ERA. In a COVID-shortened season, Prielipp pitched merely perfect for Brad Bohannon’s squad. He received First-Team All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball News.
The success didn’t carry over into his sophomore season, however. Prielipp made three appearances on the mound and pitched just seven innings before undergoing Tommy John surgery. He ended the season with a 1-1 record with a 3.86 ERA. After battling an elbow injury and undergoing Tommy John surgery, he decided to not pitch during the 2022 season.
Recently, he chose to throw a bullpen session at the SEC Tournament for MLB scouts. Soon after, he would partake in the MLB Draft Combine that took place in San Diego, California. As a result of his great arm and pitch arsenal, Prielipp was ranked as the No. 25 overall player in this year’s draft class by MLB.com.
On Sunday, he would fall into the second round to the Twins. He became the second pitcher to come from Alabama that has been drafted in the first three rounds over the past two drafts. It will be interesting to see how Prielipp develops in the minor leagues and how he fares when he receives the call to the big leagues.
With the 48th overall pick, the @Twins select @AlabamaBSB left-handed pitcher Connor Prielipp, No. 25 on the Top 250 Draft Prospects list.
Watch live: https://t.co/42SJUa2odY pic.twitter.com/iJqBbxrkAQ
— MLB Draft (@MLBDraft) July 18, 2022
Roll Tide Wire will continue to cover Alabama baseball and former players making their way to the Major Leagues.