MLB draft day 2 sees six Demon Deacons, son of Eric Karros go
SEATTLE — Baseball’s amateur draft was a fitting end to a historic season at Wake Forest.
The Demon Deacons drafted six players Monday, bringing their two-day total to nine. That’s three more than the LSU team that ousted Wake Forest from the College World Series and went on to win the national title.
Of course, LSU had the top two picks in Friday’s draft in Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews, but the Deacons showed their strength 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) and 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 an epic pitching matchup between Rhett Lowder and Skenes. Lowder was selected seventh overall in that draft.
HIGHER ED
The Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals have only recorded collegiate players so far. In fact, the Orioles only drafted outfielders and right-handed pitchers, which could help a system that currently relies heavily on hitting prospects.
ON THE HILL
The Pittsburgh Pirates ranked Skenes No. 1 overall and 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 defeated just two pitchers, high school player Kannon Kemp in the eighth round and University of Mobile two-way player Tucker Musgrove in the seventh. San Diego had just eight picks after losing its second-round and fifth-round players to the signing of free agent Xander Bogaerts.
well-known names
Colorado drafted third baseman Kyle Karros from UCLA in the fifth round. He is the son of Eric Karros, who won National League Rookie of the Year 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 defeated by San Diego in the fourth round. 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 traded to Toronto as part of the trade that sent Roger Clemens to New York.
WILL HE OR WILL HE NOT?
Milwaukee used a pick against high school shortstop Cooper Pratt in the sixth round. The question now is whether the Brewers can get the Mississippi to sign instead of playing in college.
EXTRA OPPORTUNITIES
The Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, and Los Angeles Dodgers each received two picks for losing free agents between the fourth and fifth rounds. Boston was compensated for the loss of Bogaerts and Nathan Eovaldi, New York for the loss of Jacob deGrom and Chris Bassitt, and Los Angeles for the loss of Trea Turner and Tyler Anderson.
With their extra picks, the Red Sox picked up Georgia Tech shortstop Kristian Campbell and Wright State shortstop Justin Riemer. The Mets chose high school shortstop AJ Ewing and Missouri pitcher Austin Troesser, and the Dodgers chose Texas outfielder Dylan Campbell and Middle Tennessee pitcher Eriq Swan.
The Mets and Orioles also received additional third-round picks for not signing their third-round players last year. New York picked pitcher Kade Morris from Nevada and Baltimore brought in outfielder Tavian Josenberger from Arkansas.
