Texas A&M shortstop Hunter Haas has officially heard his name called in the MLB Amateur Draft. The Tampa Bay Rays selected him No. 120 overall in the fourth round.
Haas became a key part of the operation in College Station this past season after transferring from Arizona State. He started all 64 games in which he appeared, finishing with a .323 batting average — which was second on the roster — to go with 10 home runs and 46 RBI. It was quite the bounce-back year after he hit .186 in 30 games in 2022.
Haas’ efforts earned him a spot on the Golden Spikes Award watch list and the Stanford Regional All-Regional Team. In the regional, he turned in a big performance against Stanford as he went 2-for-4 with five RBI to help Texas A&M to its lone victory over the Cardinal.
More on the 2023 MLB Draft
The 2023 Major League Baseball Draft will begin during All-Star week, with the first two rounds getting underway at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. Rounds 3-10 will then begin at 2 p.m. ET on Monday, July 10, with rounds 11-20 starting at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 11.
This year’s MLB Draft is a historic one, as a draft lottery was used to determine the order for the first time. The Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland Athletics each had a 16.5% chance to receive the No. 1 overall pick. Ultimately, Pittsburgh won the right to have the first selection, with Washington finishing right behind them at No. 2. Oakland, however, fell all the way down to No. 6 overall.
While the MLB Draft is always unpredictable, the consensus is that this year’s top prospects both hail from LSU, who won the 2023 College World Series. Pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews headline this year’s class, which is considered a deep one.
Within the first ten rounds of the draft, each slot is assigned a certain value. Each team has a bonus pool that they are able to spend on these picks, and players will sign at, above or below their assigned slot value.
In rounds 11-20, there is no assigned slot value and MLB teams are free to spend up to $150,000 to sign their picks from the second half of the draft. If they exceed the $150,000 mark, that added amount will be deducted from their bonus pool.
Following the final day of the 2023 MLB Draft, selected players will have until August 1 to sign a contract.
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