SEATTLE (AP) — Baseball’s amateur draft has been a fitting conclusion to a historic season at Wake Forest.
The Demon Deacons had six players drafted Monday, bringing their two-day total to nine. That’s three more than the LSU team that knocked Wake Forest out of the College World Series and went on to win the national title.
LSU, of course, had the top two picks in the draft Friday in Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews, but the Deacons showed off their depth on Day 2, when rounds 3-10 took place. Wake Forest pitchers Seth Keener (third round, White Sox), Teddy McGraw (third, Mariners) and Camden Minacci (sixth, Angels) were selected, along with catcher Bennett Lee (sixth, Tigers), outfielder Tommy Hawke (sixth, Guardians) and shortstop Justin Johnson (10th, Royals).
Wake Forest reached the CWS for the first time since winning the national title in 1955. The Deacons were eliminated by LSU 2-0 in 11 innings in an epic pitching matchup between Rhett Lowder and Skenes. Lowder ended up as the seventh overall pick in this draft.
HIGHER ED
The Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals have taken only college players so far. In fact, the Orioles have drafted only outfielders and right-handed pitchers, which could help a system that is heavy on hitting prospects at the moment.
ON THE MOUND
The Pittsburgh Pirates took Skenes at No. 1 overall, and they haven’t stopped adding pitchers since. Nine of Pittsburgh’s 11 picks so far have been pitchers, all but one from college.
The San Diego Padres have taken only two pitchers, high schooler Kannon Kemp in the eighth round and two-way player Tucker Musgrove of the University of Mobile in the seventh. San Diego has only had eight picks after losing its second- and fifth-rounders for signing free agent Xander Bogaerts.
FAMILIAR NAMES
Colorado drafted third baseman Kyle Karros of UCLA in the fifth round. He’s the son of Eric Karros, who won National League Rookie of the Year honors with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1992. The elder Karros was drafted in the sixth round in 1988.
Grand Canyon outfielder Homer Bush Jr. was taken in the fourth round by San Diego. Bush’s father was also drafted by the Padres in 1991, although he spent most of his major league career with the Yankees and Blue Jays — he was dealt to Toronto as part of the trade that sent Roger Clemens to New York.
WILL HE OR WON’T HE?
Milwaukee used a sixth-round pick on high school shortstop Cooper Pratt, the No. 45-ranked prospect in the draft according to MLB Pipeline. The question now is whether the Brewers can get the Mississippi commit to sign instead of playing in college.
EXTRA CHANCES
The Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers received two picks each between the fourth and fifth rounds for losing free agents. Boston was compensated for losing Bogaerts and Nathan Eovaldi, New York for losing Jacob deGrom and Chris Bassitt and Los Angeles for losing Trea Turner and Tyler Anderson.
With their extra picks, the Red Sox took Georgia Tech shortstop Kristian Campbell and Wright State shortstop Justin Riemer. The Mets selected high school shortstop A.J. Ewing and Missouri pitcher Austin Troesser, and the Dodgers picked Texas outfielder Dylan Campbell and Middle Tennessee pitcher Eriq Swan.
The Mets and Orioles also received extra third-round picks because they didn’t sign their third-rounders last year. New York selected Nevada pitcher Kade Morris, and Baltimore took Arkansas outfielder Tavian Josenberger.
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