Vanderbilt pitcher Patrick Reilly selected by Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023 MLB Draft

Vanderbilt Commodores right-handed pitcher Patrick Reilly has been selected in the fifth round of the 2023 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In three seasons as a pitcher at Vanderbilt, Patrick Reilly split his time between starting and coming out of the bullpen. In total, he started 14 games out of 49 career appearances, throwing 144 innings. Reilly had a career 5.25 ERA with 187 strikeouts.

Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin praised Reilly, saying, “If you could sculpt out a pitcher’s physique, you would start here. Patrick is one of the more impressive athletes on our team. He has very good size, strength, and mobility. Where Patrick excels is his work ethic and his commitment to get better. His arm and his overall assortment of pitches have a chance to be different. He is a locked-in kid, who has a high care level for everything that he does. He has the opportunity to make a big impact on our team this year. Patrick is a high achieving student-athlete.”

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.