Ducks and Beavers among MLB draftees
While Jesuit’s Noble Meyer was the highest draft pick out of Oregon, going 10th overall to the Miami Marlins, he was far from the only one.
Two other high school athletes, an Umpqua Community College player, and several Oregon and Oregon State players were among the 614 players selected in the 2023 MLB Draft.
Paul Wilson of Lakeridge and Dane Lais of Oregon City were the other two high school draftees, as Wilson was selected in the third round (pick No. 76) by the Detroit Tigers and Lais went in the 12th round (pick No. 401) to the San Diego Padres.
Wilson was the 51st ranked prospect entering the draft on MLB Pipeline, receiving 55 grades (on a 20-80 scouting scale) on his fastball and curveball.
“This spring he’s been back sitting around 93 mph (with his fastball), touching 95, but no one squares it up because it has plus carry and life,” his Pipeline scouting report says.
“He pairs it with a true power downer curve and has feel for a changeup, though that’s a bit inconsistent because the timing of his delivery isn’t always good.”
Wilson is committed to Oregon State, where his father Trevor played before playing eight seasons in the majors with the San Francisco Giants and Anaheim Angels.
Lais, also an Oregon State commit, is less likely to sign after going on day three. He combines an upper-80s low-90s fastball with a changeup and a slider that can touch 86 mph.
In the college ranks, six Ducks and four Beavers were selected, as well as a Riverhawk from Umpqua CC, Hunter Kublick. Kublick was taken in the 18th round (No. 545 overall) by the St. Louis Cardinals.
In seven appearances this season, he struck out over 10 batters per nine innings and posted a 2.54 ERA across 39 innings.
Garret Forrester was the top Beaver off the board, going in the third round (no. 73) to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Forrester, the No. 116 prospect on Pipeline, projects well at the plate, where he slashed .326/.470/.500 across three seasons in Corvallis.
“A right-handed hitter, Forrester brings an intriguing combination of bat speed, power potential and pitch recognition to the plate consistently,” his Pipeline report says.
“He makes very good swing decisions, sees a lot of pitches and keeps his barrel in the zone for a long time, enabling him to drive the ball to the gaps to all fields while getting his fair share of home runs.
Sabin Ceballos was the first Oregon player off the board, going to the Atlanta Braves near the end of the third round (No. 94).
This is the second straight season that Ceballos has been drafted, as he was taken in the 14th round of the 2022 draft by the Los Angeles Angels before coming to Oregon.
In his lone season in Eugene, Ceballos was stellar at the plate, hitting .333 and driving 10 doubles and 18 home runs while driving in 70 and posting an OPS of 1.069.
Pipeline notes that his plate discipline has continued to improve, and with it has come an increased ability to drive the ball the opposite way combined with a surge of power to his pull side.
A Duck went in each round from rounds 8-11, with Jace Stoffal going to Minnesota at 237, Colby Shade going to Miami at 263, Josh Mollerus going to Toronto at 304, and Rikku Nishida going to the White Sox at 329.
Beavers Ryan Brown and Mikey Kane went in rounds 16 and 17, with Brown going to Oakland at 466 and Kane going to the White Sox at 509.
Isaac Ayon was the final Duck off the board, going in the 20th and final round to Washington at pick 585.
The final Oregon State selection was one of the most intriguing picks in the entire draft, as the Los Angeles Dodgers drafted D.J. Uiagalelei with the 610th overall pick.
Uiagalelei, the Oregon State quarterback who spent three seasons at Clemson, hasn’t played baseball since high school, but he touched 95 with his fastball as a high school prospect and some believe he could have been a top college arm had he decided to pursue baseball.
Uiagalelei isn’t the first college football player to be drafted in the MLB draft, though he is the most notable since Kyler Murray was selected ninth overall by the Oakland Athletics in 2018.
Murray opted for football, winning the Heisman Trophy and going No. 1 overall in the following NFL Draft to the Arizona Cardinals, where he still plays.
Super Bowl winning QB Russell Wilson was also a high draft pick in baseball, going in the fourth round in 2010 to Colorado, and he played 93 minor league games before shifting his focus to football full time.
Perhaps the most notable football player who ended up on the diamond was Jeff Samardzija, an All-American wide receiver at Notre Dame who went on to play 13 seasons in the major leagues.
For a full list of all draft picks in the MLB draft, visit mlb.com/draft/tracker/2023.
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