Why Mississippi State fans should happy about first half of MLB Draft

The 2025 MLB Draft has completed the first 10 rounds and Mississippi State fans should be happy.

Very happy.

As previously noted, it’s rare for a player drafted in the first 10 rounds doesn’t sign a professional contract. Several players and signees for Mississippi State were looked at as possible selections in the first 10 rounds, meaning they likely wouldn’t be coming to Starkville next school year.

Mississippi State saw a few players and signees drafted in the first 10 rounds, but it’s the players that weren’t drafted that is the biggest story for Mississippi State fans.

Of the 200 players ranked before the draft by MLB.com, Mississippi State had six players listed and only half of them were drafted in the first 10 rounds.

JoJo Parker (8th overall, Toronto Blue Jays), Landon Harmon (80th overall, Washington Nationals), Pico Kohn (134th overall, New York Yankees) were all ranked in the top 200 prospects and selected in the first 10 rounds. Also, Karson Ligon (262nd overall, Toronto Blue Jays) and Hunter Hines (291st overall, Washington Nationals) were picked in the first 10 rounds. Former Rice pitcher Davion Hickson committed to Mississippi State after entering the portal, but was drafted 165th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

But Jack Bauer (No. 44), Jacob Parker (No. 109) and Aidan Teel (No. 184) were not drafted in the first 10 rounds. They may still be drafted and may still sign a professional contract. But the odds of those three players wearing maroon and white next season took a massive positive jump.

There are other Mississippi State players that have gone undrafted that should give some hope they return to Starkville, like Gehrig Frei and Noah Sullivan.

Biggest Surprise

Jacob Parker is the twin brother of JoJo Parker, who was a top 10 pick. There was some speculation about the possibility of a team drafting both Parker brothers but that hasn’t happened yet.

The fact Jacob wasn’t drafted in the first 10 rounds surprises me. Smarter people than me (no, that’s not a very high bar to clear) had him in their mock drafts, so I assumed he’d already have been drafted. I’m not entirely sure why he’s gone undrafted and with all the intricacies of the MLB Draft, I’ll just wait to see what happens.

But if Jacob does come to Mississippi State, new coach Brian O’Connor will get a big victory. But not the biggest, because…

Left-handed fireballer coming to Starkville?

I have to confess something that I hope the player doesn’t find offensive, but I was really hoping that Jack Bauer wouldn’t be drafted in the first 10 rounds.

Sure, there were reports that he wanted to go to college instead of the pros and money talks. But, as of right now, it looks like he’ll be going to college.

Why does that make me so happy? It’s not just because Bauer was mentioned as one of the two players with the highest ceiling among the prospects and he’s hit 103 mph as a high school pitcher.

OK, the 103 mph is part of the reason. When I saw that I went a looked for some highlights of Bauer pitching. What I found made me rewatch clips over and over.