Auburn shortstop commit Colt Emerson was selected by the Seattle Mariners in with the No. 22 overall pick in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft.
Emerson is a 17-year-old left side of the infield player out of New Concord (Ohio) John Glenn. Only Derek Dietrich has been drafted in the first three rounds of the MLB Draft out of an Ohio high school since 2007. Dietrich went in the third round of the draft but did not sign with the Houston Astros. Instead he went to Georgia Tech and was drafted in the second round in 2010.
He played third base for the United States U-18 national team last September at the U-18 Baseball World Cup in Florida, hitting .360 along the way.
The left-handed hitter was the No. 29 overall prospect in MLB.com’s draft rankings heading into draft day.
“Emerson is an advanced high school hitter who makes repeated hard contact with a pretty left-handed swing,” MLB.com’s scouting report on Emerson reads. “He usually drives the ball from gap to gap but shows the ability to pull the ball with authority. Once he does that more regularly, his bat speed and strength should translate into 20 or more homers per season.”
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 like Colt Emerson will have until August 1 to sign a contract.
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