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A pair of former Utah high school baseball standouts heard their names called on the first two days of the Major League Baseball first-year player draft.
The 19th overall pick by the Tampa Bay Rays, TCU infielder Brayden Taylor became the first-ever position player picked in the first round in Horned Frogs baseball history when he nervously heard his name called Sunday night at Lumen Field in Seattle.
"I felt my legs go right out from under me. I still can't feel my legs," Taylor told reporters in Seattle shortly after donning a Rays jersey and cap, per MLB.com. "Being able to hug my family, it was fantastic. I'm very grateful."
The Baseball America Third-team All-American hit .308 with 15 doubles, a program single-season record 23 home runs and a team-high 70 RBIs while leading TCU to a 44-24 record and a berth in the College World Series as a junior. Taylor, who prepped at Copper Hills High, was a top-200 prospect nationally by Perfect Game after batting .461 for the Grizzlies.
Taylor's pick came with a slot value of $3,880,100, according to MLB's sliding scale for draft-pick salaries. The Rays' bonus pool for the year is $10,872,100.
On Monday, BYU slugger Austin Deming was selected with the final pick of the 10th round (No. 314 overall) by the Houston Astros. The third baseman from Santa Clara won the West Coast Conference regular-season triple crown with a league-high .418 batting average, 19 home runs and 68 RBI as a senior in 2023.
The Snow Canyon graduate led the WCC in nine offensive categories, including a .915 slugging percentage, 151 total bases and 1.68 hits per game en route to third-team All-American honors by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Deming's pick has a slot value of $164,400, according to the MLB's sliding scale.
DEM GOT THE CALL❕
— BYU Baseball (@BYUBaseball) July 10, 2023
Round 10, Pick 314 pic.twitter.com/Tdirim2qcK
On Tuesday, Utah Valley hurler Casey Anderson became the highest draft pick in the Wolverines' Division I era when he was selected in the 11th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher from Cedar City who prepped at Lehi went 5-1 with a 3.39 ERA in 69 innings as a junior in 2023, earning first-team All-WAC honors with a 3-1 record in league play and a 3.14 ERA with two saves.
Anderson currently ranks sixth in UVU program history with 90 strikeouts in a single season, third-lowest in opponent batting average at .240, and had 27 strikeouts for third-best all-time in a single season.
"Casey was instrumental in elevating our program this season," UVU head coach Eddie Smith said of the Wolverines' first MLB draft pick since Paxton Schultz in 2019. "He grew throughout the year in his habits and polished his work ethic to a new level."
The Wolverines had one other selection to close out the 2023 draft in recent signee Chase Jaworsky. The Houston Astros selected the shortstop out of Rock Canyon High in the fifth round.
2023 MLB entry draft picks
- Round 1 (No. 19), Tampa Bay Rays: Brayden Taylor, SS/3B, TCU (Copper Hills HS)
- Round 5 (No. 164), Houston Astros: Chase Jaworsky, SS, Utah Valley
- Round 7 (No. 224), Houston Astros: Joey Dixon, RHP, Stanford (Bingham HS)
- Round 10 (No. 297), Minnesota Twins: Ross Dunn, P, Arizona State (Cottonwood HS)
- Round 10 (No. 314), Houston Astros: Austin Deming, INF, BYU (Snow Canyon HS)
- Round 11 (No. 325), Arizona Diamondbacks: Casey Anderson, RHP, Utah Valley (Lehi HS)
