Coming in to 2020, 11 former Ohio State baseball players had been taken in the first two rounds of the MLB Draft. Six Buckeyes had been taken in the first round, and five in the second. None had gone that high since 2010, when Alex Wimmers was taken by the Minnesota Twins in 2010. Of course, the most high-profile Buckeye taken in the draft is almost certainly Nick Swisher, who went No. 16 overall to the Oakland Athletics in 2002. Swisher was already the most high-profile Buckeye in recent decades, and his focus in discussions of Moneyball-style baseball theory has kept him prominent well past his playing career.
Well, on Thursday evening the Buckeyes added a 12th top draft pick to the list, and one who will hope to supplant Swisher as the highest-profile baseball Buckeye. Catcher Dillon Dingler was taken by the Detroit Tigers with the first pick of the second round, 38th overall. (The reason the first pick of the second round was 38th is because the MLB has eight “competitive balance round” picks after the first round. There were only 29 first-round picks due to the penalties received by the Houston Astros for the sign-sealing scandal.)
Dingler hit .276 in his three years at Ohio State, but he was clearly vastly improved as his career went on. In his final COVID-shortened season, Dingler was batting .340 and had ten extra-base hits in his 50 at-bats in 2020. He was listed as the No. 24 prospect according to mlb.com, but fell to No. 38 in the actual draft.
With pick No. 38 in the 2020 #MLBDraft, the #Tigers select C Dillon Dingler from the Ohio State University. pic.twitter.com/NLhJDP4Ykt
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) June 11, 2020
Dingler certainly has high expectations heading into his professional career, but if his Ohio State career is any indication, he definitely has a good chance to live up to them. Not only is it great for him personally, but professional success is great for the program in general. The Buckeyes were well-improved in recent years, but professional success from alumni is key to recruiting better players in the future and generating fan interest.
Pitcher Seth Lonsway was also expected to be a high draft pick, though he had not yet been taken as of the time of this writing (midway through the fifth round). Additionally, high school senior Mac Wainwright (from Lakewood, OH) was taken by the Cincinnati Reds in the fourth round. Wainwright is an Ohio State signee, and he will need to decide if he goes straight to the pros or if he starts his career as a Buckeye for at least one year.