There isn’t a lot of pressure on teams on the last day of the MLB Draft. There may be entertaining as well as risky choices made. In the 20th round, the Los Angeles Dodgers absolutely made the decision to astonish college football fans.
DJ Uiagalelei, a former quarterback for Clemson who now plays for Oregon State, was selected with the No. 610 pick in the 20th round of the MLB Draft in 2023. He was Los Angeles’ final pick of the year and the sixth-to-last pick.
Uiagalelei was the No. 1 player in his high school Perfect Game profile. 500 players in the 2020 class overall. He was designated as a right-handed pitcher, and his fastball has previously been measured at around 90 mph.
While attending Clemson, we did not observe Uiagalelei competing on the baseball diamond. However, Monte Lee claims that the quarterback took a few swings during the student home run derby in February 2022, which resulted in one player exiting the stadium.
The baseball program at Oregon State has a long history, having won three national championships. They might need to get in touch with football head coach Jonathan Smith if they ever need an arm.
Unless, of course, the Dodgers are able to perform a miraculous feat.
More about the 2023 MLB Draft
The 2023 Major League Baseball Draft will begin on Sunday, July 9 at 7 p.m. ET, with the first two rounds beginning during All-Star Week. On Monday, July 10, rounds 3 through 10 will begin at 2 p.m. ET, and on Tuesday, July 11, rounds 11 through 20 will begin at 2 p.m. ET.
The MLB Draft this year will go down in history because for the first time, the draft order will be decided by lottery. Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Washington Nationals all had a 16.5% chance of winning the No. 1 pick overall. Pittsburgh ended up getting the first pick, and Washington came in right behind them at No. 2. Oakland, on the other hand, dropped to No. 6 in total.
Despite the fact that the MLB Draft is never certain, most people agree that both of this year’s best prospects come from LSU, which won the College World Series in 2023. This year’s class, which is considered to be deep, is led by pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews.
Each slot in the draft has a specific value for the first ten rounds. Players will sign at, above, or below their assigned slot value, and each team has a bonus pool that they can spend on these picks.
MLB teams can spend up to $150,000 to sign their second-half draft picks in rounds 11 through 20, when there is no assigned slot value. The additional amount will be deducted from their bonus pool if they reach $150,000.
The selected players in the 2023 MLB Draft will have until August 1 to sign a contract after the final day.
