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Here are the 10 highest-picked baseball prospects right out of high school from the first round of the draft.
The 2023 MLB draft began last night in Seattle at Lumen Field, the home stadium of the NFL’s Seahawks. Unlike the NFL draft or the NBA draft, MLB teams are allowed to pick players right out of high school and then bring them up slowly—or, sometimes, rapidly—through their respective farm systems.
Here are the 10 highest-picked baseball prospects right out of high school from the first round of the draft.
Despite missing the 2023 season due to Tommy John Surgery, right-handed pitcher, Jaxon Wiggins became the 68th overall pick in the MLB Draft.
Despite missing the 2023 season thanks to Tommy John Surgery, right-handed pitcher Jaxon Wiggins became the 68th overall pick in the MLB Draft.
The Cubs selected the righty in the second round. Since 2019, Wiggins is the 17th pitcher from Arkansas to be drafted, with 13 of them being selected in the first ten rounds.
Wiggins was expected to lead the Razorbacks’ starting rotation but unfortunately missed the entire 2023 season due to a torn ulnar collateral ligament, which necessitated Tommy John surgery.
In his Arkansas career, the Roland, Okla., native appeared in 34 games with 19 starts and recorded a 9-4 record with a 6.17 ERA and 110 strikeouts in 89 innings. During his sophomore year in 2022, Wiggins had a record of 6-3 with 82 strikeouts in 66 innings across 17 appearances with 15 starts and an ERA of 6.55.
As a true freshman in 2021, he appeared on the mound in 17 games, four of which he started, and had a record of 3-1, 28 strikeouts, and four saves in 23 innings pitched while maintaining an ERA of 5.09.
Wiggins was the fourth and final Arkansas product selected on day one in the draft.
Martin has decided to forego his commitment to Arkansas in favor of pursuing his professional career, starting with the Low-A San Jose Giants.
With 100 people at his home in Colorado, Walker Martin watched the MLB Draft and heard his name called as the 52nd overall pick by the San Francisco Giants.
Martin has decided to forego his commitment to Arkansas in favor of pursuing his professional career, and he will most likely begin with the Low-A San Jose Giants.
The $3 million bonus offered to him aligns more closely with the typical value given to picks in the latter stages of the first round.
“I went through all the emotions,” Martin said. “At the beginning, I thought I was going to go first round, but it didn’t work out that way. But the Giants came back with some good money, and it’s going to be a good fit. I’m more than happy to be with the Giants. They’re a good organization that’s going to develop me well.”
This year, Martin led all classes in every state with 20 home runs, while also leading the Easton Reds to a perfect 29-0 season and securing their third consecutive Class 3A state title. With a batting average of .633, an on-base percentage of .722, and a slugging percentage of 1.632, Martin proved invaluable to his team, driving in 75 RBIs throughout the season.
Martin has a goal of reaching the big leagues by 2028.
“In three to five years, I’m going to be in the majors,” Martin said. “I’m confident in myself, and I’m going to work hard to get there.”
Zanetello became the third Arkansas prospect drafted in the first two rounds.
In front of a live crowd in Seattle at the MLB Draft, the Boston Red Sox selected Nazzan Zanetello from St. Louis (Mo.) Christian Brothers College High School with their pick at No. 50.
Zanetello became the third Arkansas prospect drafted in the first two rounds.
Zanetello gained attention from Draft Scouts after impressing at various showcase events. He started by earning MVP honors at the Breakthrough Series in June and continued to stand out with his athletic abilities during the PDP League in July.
He also led Team USA in hitting with an impressive .429 average during an 18-and-under World Cup qualifying tournament in November.
“Man, it was just a dream come true cause I remember my first Little League team was the St. Louis Red Sox,” Zanetello said. “And it was just a huge sigh of relief, man. Finally, get to stand up from that table in there.”
Initially, Zanetello committed to play college baseball at Miami but eventually flipped to Arkansas. He is not only a solid shortstop but has also demonstrated his ability to play in the outfield.
This versatility makes him a compelling prospect as he contemplates whether or not to pursue a career in the major leagues.
Kendall George committed to Arkansas as a high-school freshman in 2020, but is 100 percent heading to pros.
Kendall George committed to Arkansas in 2020 as a high-school freshman, but his dreams of playing MLB baseball are coming to fruition as the Los Angeles Dodgers selected him in the first round.
George went to Atascocita High School in Humble, Texas, where his defining characteristic was speed. His speed is already exceptional, evident from his impressive 6.16-second 60-yard dash at the Perfect Game 2022 National Showcase.
As an outfielder standing at 5-foot-11 and weighing 165 pounds, he has the potential to grow physically as a player.
“It felt amazing,” George said on getting drafted. “It was a dream come true. Just from a young age, I’ve always wanted to be a professional baseball player, and it’s just a dream not many people can live out. It’s a great feeling. It’s almost unexplainable.”
Before the draft, the Dodgers had shown George they were interested in selecting him in the second round at pick No. 60, but they decided to make George’s dream come true earlier than expected.
George said he will “100 percent” be signing with the Dodgers and not attending college.
The Phillies select Arkansas top recruit in 2023 MLB Draft.
Arkansas’ top commitment for the Class of 2023, third baseman Aiden Miller, was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the first round of the MLB Draft Sunday.
Miller was one of the players that left manager Dave Van Horn waiting to figure out what to do with his roster. Now that the waiting game is over, Miller and Arkansas can focus on the future steps.
“The big attraction with Aidan is the bat,” Phillies amateur scouting director Brian Barber said. “He was just one of the best hitters in the country that we saw. It’s a combination of hit and power, there’s strength, there’s ability to hit the ball hard, there’s bat-to-ball skills. It’s just a guy we walked away from last year and absolutely loved the bat.”
The Phillies had the chance to witness Miller’s performance twice this year prior to his hand injury. Additionally, they were present during his workout in May when he was cleared to resume play.
Last year Miller won the All-American Game MVP Award and the High School Home Run Derby title at Dodger Stadium in July 2022.
Miller will likely sign with the Phillies and skip the college route.
Manfred is terrible but hating the Astros is tradition.
At this point, it might as well be a time-honored tradition for American sports fans to boo the commissioner during a league draft. It happens to Roger Goodell in the NFL, Gary Bettman is no stranger to it in the NHL, and Rob Manfred gets his according hate in the MLB, too.
But sometimes, hostility for a commissioner doesn’t actually come first to fans. Take what happened during the 2023 MLB Draft in Seattle on Sunday.
Manfred was busy receiving his usual chorus of boos throughout the first round. But when he mentioned that the Houston Astros were about to make their first pick, fans turned up the volume on their jeering. It’s almost as if hating Manfred didn’t matter compared to hating baseball’s preeminent “villain” team in Houston.
Check it out in the video below via ESPN:
As much as the fans in Seattle hate Rob Manfred, they hate the Houston Astros even more. pic.twitter.com/5F5wcvSliq
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 10, 2023
Rob Manfred can barely get words out pic.twitter.com/DturFI8c4E
— Baseball GIFs (@gifs_baseball) July 10, 2023
Manfred has received a fair amount of rightful criticism since he took over as MLB commissioner. This is a guy who has weak explanations for racist advertising and who put bat boys and bat girls on notice (yes, seriously) for how they apparently slow down the pace of games.
But it seems the Astros — after their unceasing run atop the league and past major cheating scandal — still hold a special place of loathing in the hearts of baseball fans. We have a real Sophie’s Choice here.
2023 MLB draft: Tennessee baseball’s top remaining prospects entering rounds 3-10 on Monday
The 2023 Major League Baseball first-year player draft is taking place Sunday-Tuesday in Seattle, Washington.
The MLB first-year player draft is being held in conjunction with the 2023 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday.
Rounds 1-2 were held Sunday.
Rounds 3-10 will be held Monday beginning at 2 p.m. EDT and can be watched on MLB.com. Rounds 11-20 are slated for Tuesday (2 p.m. EDT, MLB.com).
PHOTOS: Chase Dollander through the years
Below are Tennessee’s top prospects entering rounds 3-10 on Monday. Top prospect rankings are from MLB.com and are listed below.
A look at Twitter reaction to Chase Dollander being selected by the Rockies.
The 2023 Major League Baseball first-year player draft is taking place Sunday-Tuesday in Seattle, Washington.
The MLB first-year player draft is being held in conjunction with the 2023 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday.
The MLB draft will continue on Monday with rounds 3-10.
Dollander played at Tennessee from 2022-23. He transferred to the Vols from Georgia Southern ahead of the 2022 season.
Following Dollander being selected by the Rockies in the first-round, Vols Wire looks at social media buzz. Social media buzz for Dollander being drafted is listed below.
Auburn’s top signees, Colt Emerson and Kevin McGonigal, are now off of the draft board.
Several members of Auburn baseball’s 2023 roster will have the chance to continue their baseball careers at the next level. However, two members of Auburn’s 2023 signing class will get that chance much sooner.
The 2023 Major League Baseball draft began Sunday night and two of Auburn’s top signees were quickly taken off the board. First up, infielder [autotag]Colt Emerson[/autotag] was drafted 22nd overall by the Seattle Mariners. Emerson is considered to be a four-star prospect by 14powers.com, and MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo can see him being a versatile member of Seattle’s infield in the future.
A year ago, the Mariners took a left-handed-hitting middle infielder out of the high school ranks in Cole Young, and they did it again here. Emerson has a similar profile to Young as a prep player with the chance to be a plus hitter with a very advanced approach at the plate. There is power for him to grow into as well, and while he’s a solid defender, he may not play shortstop forever, but third or second could work just fine.
The next Auburn signee to hear his name called was [autotag]Kevin McGonigal[/autotag], who is considered to be Auburn’s top prospect of the 2023 class. McGonigal was taken 37th overall by the Detroit Tigers and may begin his pro career if the offer is attractive.
There was buzz that McGonigle seemed “unsignable” and would head to Auburn, but he doesn’t go here if he’s not ready to start his pro career. A real gamer, McGonigle has the chance to be a plus hitter with solid power, one who routinely finds the barrel. He might end up at second, like his idol, Chase Utley. This will be an over-slot deal, so the Tigers will have to save some money in other spots, and it makes me wonder if Max Clark’s bonus might be a little under slot at No. 3 to help make this signing happen.
According to MLB.com, the Mariners’ selection of Emerson at No. 22 is worth a value of $3,496,600, and the Tigers’ selection of McGonigal is worth $2,309,500. Several other names to watch for as the MLB draft continues on Monday include [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag], [autotag]Cole Foster[/autotag], and [autotag]Joseph Gonzalez[/autotag].
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