Kentucky baseball NCAA tourney stars set to return after 2023 MLB Draft
Kentucky baseball coach Nick Mingione can breathe a little easier after the completion of the MLB Draft on Wednesday.
Three Wildcats were selected in the 20-round draft, but catcher Devin Burkes and relief ace Mason Moore, arguably Kentucky’s best hitter and pitcher, were not picked and are now in line to return to Lexington for the 2024 season.
“Come draft time, don’t try to call me,” Mingione joked in late June when asked about nerves surrounding his 2024 roster. ”I’ve already got a ton of gray hairs. There will be more coming as it relates to the draft.”
Most college players are not eligible for the draft until after their third season of college baseball, but Burkes and Moore were both draft-eligible sophomores since they have already turned 21. With multiple years of eligibility remaining, both UK stars had the leverage of returning to school and improving their draft stock had they been selected.
Now, Burkes, the MVP of Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament regional win, will look to cement his status as one of the top catchers in the SEC in his second season as a full-time starter. Moore, who pitched 10 scoreless innings out of the bullpen in the regional, is likely to move into UK’s weekend rotation as a junior.
Kentucky did not escape the draft completely unscathed though.
Junior right-handed pitcher Austin Strickland, who shined after a late-season move to the weekend rotation, was drafted in the eighth round by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates also selected junior left-handed reliever Magdiel Cotto in the 11th round. The Kansas City Royals drafted senior right-handed pitcher Logan Martin, who has one year of college eligibility remaining, in the 12th round.
MLB Draft rules — teams forfeit the assigned signing bonus amount for any unsigned picks from the top 10 rounds in their overall bonus pool — ensure the vast majority of players picked in the first 10 rounds will sign professional contracts before the July 25 deadline. Last year, only three players drafted in the first 10 rounds did not sign a professional contract, so it can be safely assumed that Strickland is headed to the professional level.
Players picked in rounds 11-20 can sign a bonus worth up to $150,000 without counting toward a team’s available bonus pool. Teams can offer picks in that range more than $150,000 if they have bonus pool money remaining by signing any of their top-10 round picks for less than the slot value assigned to their pick number.
The fact that Cotto and Martin were both picked early on day three of the draft might suggest teams felt they were likely to sign, but those decisions could come down to how much bonus money the Pirates and Royals have remaining after signing their earlier selections.
Martin opened the 2023 season as Kentucky’s Friday night starter after transferring to UK from Division III Sewanee but was limited to 26 1/3 innings due to injury. There was some hope entering the draft that Martin might elect to use his final season of eligibility in hopes of proving to MLB scouts he could thrive in a full season against SEC competition, but having already played four seasons of college baseball it would be understandable for Martin to want to continue his development at the professional level.
Incoming UK transfer Trey Paige, who hit .372 with 14 home runs for Delaware State last season, was drafted in the 17th round by the St. Louis Cardinals.
“The thing is, you want our guys to go where they feel valued and where they believe they should go,” Mingione said. “That’s such a rewarding feeling as a coach, for them to hear their name and for them to get that opportunity. If they don’t, a lot of those guys have another year or two years. Obviously, we would welcome them back with open arms.”
No Kentucky high school player was selected in the 2023 draft. Louisville (four), Western Kentucky (one), Morehead State (one) and Eastern Kentucky (one) all had players selected.
Kentucky college players picked in 2023 MLB Draft
▪ 5th round (161): Louisville SS Christian Knapczyk
▪ 6th round (178): Western Kentucky RHP CJ Weins
▪ 7th round (212): Louisville LHP Tate Kuehner
▪ 8th round (227): Kentucky RHP Austin Strickland
▪ 8th round (235): Morehead State 1B Jackson Feltner
▪ 8th round (247): Louisville RHP Ryan Hawks
▪ 11th round (317): Kentucky LHP Magdiel Cotto
▪ 11th round (330): Louisville C Jack Payton
▪ 12th round (349): Kentucky RHP Logan Martin
▪ 20th round (609): Eastern Kentucky C Will King
This story was originally published July 11, 2023 at 5:50 PM.