Major League Baseball Draft Prospects in the NCAA Postseason
An IBWAA co-editor examines the draft prospects attempting to reach Omaha
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
. . . The 2023 MLB Draft highly featured players who had participated in the College World Series that season, with seven of the first ten college picks in the draft coming from schools that participated in Omaha, including five of the first six college picks.
Last year’s draft was unusual, however, among the last five seasons when there was a CWS (excluding 2020), a TOTAL of nine players were selected from CWS teams among the top 10 college picks in the other four drafts.
Leading Off
MLB Draft prospects in the NCAA postseason
By Benjamin Chase
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
Well, for those who are fans of college baseball, it certainly is. The College World Series (CWS) regional playoffs began Friday and will continue with super regionals next weekend before the eight teams that make up the CWS contingent in Omaha begin the pursuit of an NCAA Division I baseball championship.
Last season’s CWS featured many of the top Major League Baseball (MLB) draft prospects for that season’s (and this season’s) draft. Who should fans be paying attention to among players on top teams that could be top draft prospects in the 2024 MLB draft, scheduled for July 14-16.
College players dominate the top of draft prospect rankings for MLB Pipeline and Baseball America. However, a few players have already been eliminated that rank atop those lists.
Already Eliminated/Didn’t Qualify
Wake Forest going down after two games surprised many, despite a very up-and-down season for the Deamon Decons. The first round of the 2024 MLB Draft should be a place where Wake Forest shines, though.
Up to three Wake Forest players could factor in the top half of the first round, with righty Chase Burns widely ranked as the top right-handed pitcher available in the draft. First baseman Nick Kurtz missed time this season, but once he returned, he was an absolute beast at the plate. Finally, Seaver King is a player who brings talent all across the board with defensive flexibility. All very well could go in the top 15 picks.
The top three MLB draft prospects whose teams didn’t make the tournament at all are California catcher Caleb Lomavita, Iowa pitcher Brody Brecht, and Sam Houston State catcher Walker Janek. Lomavita and Janek headline a strong group of college catchers. As many as six catchers could end up going in the first two rounds of the draft. Brecht has plenty of raw talent, but control issues could push him out of the first round unless a team feels confident with their ability to develop his electric arm.
A number of elite SEC players led by top lefty Hagen Smith from Arkansas, won’t be continuing on to Super Regionals next week. Premium athlete Dakota Jordan of Mississippi State is likely to go before the 20th selection, but the Bulldogs will not be continuing, which also means switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje won’t be advancing.
Prospects Still Playing
The team with the most top draft prospects that is on to the next round is the Florida State Seminoles, whose two best hitters, Cam Smith and James Tibbs III could both be off of the board before the 15th pick.
The top team advancing will be top seed Tennessee. The Volunteers don’t have a guy that will challenge for a top-10 draft slot, but Billy Amick, Christian Moore, and Drew Beam could all end up going off the board before the second round begins.
Top draft prospects Charlie Condon (Georgia) and Travis Bazzana (Oregon State) will each continue on, as will Texas A&M outfielder Braden Montgomery and West Virginia infielder JJ Wetherholt.
LSU and North Carolina will play today for the right to move on, which means top draft prospects Tommy White (LSU) and Vance Honeycutt are still both active for one more day. East Carolina’s Trey Yesavage helped to pitch his club into a Monday decisive game for an opportunity to advance. Florida has a strong team, led by top-five prospect Jac Caglianone, and they will be battling Oklahoma State, who also has an impressive two-way star in Carson Benge, to continue forward today.
There will be excellent opportunity to see some of the top future MLB talent over the next few weeks…take advantage!
Benjamin Chase is a newspaper reporter for a rural South Dakota paper by day and a baseball nut at all hours. He is the co-editor for Here’s the Pitch, writes about prospects on his Medium page, Chasing Baseball Greatness, and co-hosts the Pallazzo Podcast prospect show. He can be found on most social media services under the username biggentleben.
Timeless Trivia
The 2023 MLB Draft featured LSU pitcher Paul Skenes going first overall after winning a title at the 2023 College World Series. Can you name the last time the top overall selection was a member of the CWS title team that season?