ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — As fans across the league get set for the All-Star break, Major League Baseball teams are making their picks in this year's draft.
So far, the Tampa Bay Rays have selected three players in the 2023 MLB Draft.
In the first round, the Rays chose shortstop Brayden Taylor from Texas Christian University with their 19th pick. In the Competitive Balance Round A, the team selected shortstop Adrian Santana (No. 31 overall) and then outfielder Colton Ledbetter (No. 55 overall) in the second round.
In 58 games during his junior season, Taylor hit .308/.430/.631 with 15 doubles, 23 HR, 70 RBI, 77 runs and 14 steals. That earned him First Team All-Big 12 and Third Team Baseball America All-American honors. Taylor was also ranked No. 14 in this year's top players in the draft by MLB.com
This past season, Santana – who played with Doral Academy in Florida – hit .364/.442/.758 with 33 RBI, 18 steals and 11 homers as a senior, while Ledbetter hit .320/.452/.574 with 12 doubles, one triple, 12 HR, 52 RBI, 16 steals and 47 walks over 53 games as a junior for Mississippi State.
At the time of this writing, below are the players the Rays have selected on Day 2 of the draft:
- Round 3: First baseman Tre' Morgan from LSU
- Round 4: Shortstop Hunter Haas from Texas A&M
- Round 5: Pitcher Trevor Harrison from J.W. Mitchell High School in New Port Richey
- Round 6: Pitcher T.J. Nichols from Arizona
- Round 7: Pitcher Owen Wild from Gonzaga
To see a full list of the players Rays select in the draft, click here.
Tampa Bay has not yet announced what the future looks like for each player selected.
There were also three players taken in the first round of the draft that are from the Tampa Bay area.
Brock Wilken, 21, played high school ball at Bloomingdale High School in Valrico and was the No. 18 overall pick, selected by the Milwaukee Brewers. Seventeen-year-old Arjun Nimmala was picked No. 20 overall by the Toronto Blue Jays from Strawberry Crest High School in Dover, whereas Aidan Miller, who played for J.W. Mitchell High School in the Tampa area this spring, was chosen by the Philadelphia Phillies at No. 27 overall.
The draft is being held in Seattle ahead of the All-Star game and will conclude on Tuesday, July 11.
The Rays will play their next game after the All-Star break on Friday, July 14 on the road against the Kansas City Royals.