The first half of the Major League Baseball Draft is in the books, and the number of Clemson’s players and recruits that have heard their names called has been minimal.
To what extent those selections will impact the Tigers’ roster for next season, though, remains to be seen.
Three players either on or signed to join Clemson’s roster have been drafted through the first two days of the draft. That number could increase when the draft concludes with the final 10 rounds Tuesday, but things have gone about as expected when it comes to the Tigers’ current players.
Max Wagner and Mack Anglin, Clemson’s highest-ranked prospects entering the draft, have each been drafted. Wagner was first to come off the board, going to the Baltimore Orioles in the second round with the 42nd overall pick. Anglin went to the Kansas City Royals five rounds later with the 205th overall selection.
Clemson first-year coach Erik Bakich told The Clemson Insider before the draft that he was approaching it as if neither player would be returning to school, and understandably so.
It would be difficult for Wagner to increase his draft stock more than he did this past season when he matched a school record with 27 home runs, and the approximate slotted bonus money associated with the 42nd overall pick ($1.86 million) is likely too good to pass up. Anglin, Clemson’s Friday starter this past season, jumped six rounds after being drafted in the 13th a year ago. A year older than Wagner as a third-year sophomore, Anglin would also be 23 years old by the time next year’s draft rolls around, which would naturally decrease his stock if he returned to school for another season.
Clemson also had two signees ranked among the top 50 prospects going into the draft, but only one of them has been selected to this point. And Brock Porter went later than expected, though that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll make it to school.
Ranked as the No. 11 overall prospect by MLB.com, Porter slid to the fourth round before the Texas Rangers drafted the hard-throwing right-hander with the 109th overall pick. But the Rangers are reportedly paying under slot value for its first-round pick, Kumar Rock, and didn’t have any second- or third-picks to spend money on, so they may have the extra money needed to pay over slot for Porter’s signature.
While Clemson awaits Porter’s decision, the Tigers have a better chance of getting left-hander Tristan Smith to campus. MLB.com rated the Boiling Springs High standout as the 46th-best prospect, but Smith heads into the final day of the draft still on the board. It’s a good indication teams won’t be able to match Smith’s asking price.
Still, a team could take a flyer on Smith in the later rounds. Who else with Clemson ties could be drafted?
Shortstop Ben Blackwell and pitchers Geoffrey Gilbert, Ryan Ammons and Jackson Lindley are among the Tigers’ other draft-eligible players. Winnacunnet (New Hampshire) High right-hander Joe Allen and Porter’s high school teammate, St. Mary’s Prep (Michigan) School infielder Jack Crighton, MLB.com’s No. 220 prospect, are other recruits who could be selected.
Photo credit: Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal/USA Today Network
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