Tennessee finally broke through as a team this season, making the College World Series. It’s something head coach Tony Vitello was building toward, finally getting the job done and appearing in Omaha. Jared Dickey was a huge part of why the Volunteers had success and now, his hard work is being paid off.
With the 319th pick of the 2023 MLB Draft, Dickey was selected by the Kansas City Royals. The outfielder and catcher can now call himself an 11th rounder, being just the latest out of Knoxville to hear his name called. A special moment for Dickey after a successful college career.
Dickey had a great season with the Vols, earning second-team All-SEC honors. In 244 at-bats, Dickey hit .328 with 12 home runs and 52 RBIs. His OPS was impressive as well coming at .917, having nine over extra base hits.
Position versatility is always something teams love. Especially when one of those is behind the plate as Dickey is able to catch. Add in his impressive bat and there is a reason the Tennessee star has been selected in the draft.
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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