Sons of former big-league stars Ortiz, Ramirez and Grudzielanek among MLB draft picks in late rounds
AP Baseball Writer
Major League Baseball’s three-day amateur draft concluded on Tuesday, with the 30 teams blazing through 300 picks in less than 3 1/2 hours.
There were some familiar last names selected on the final day, which consisted of rounds 11 through 20.
The Los Angeles Angels took outfielder Lucas Ramirez in the 17th round. Ramirez is the son of 12-time All-Star Manny Ramirez. The Boston Red Sox selected D’Angelo Ortiz in the 19th round and he’s the son of Hall of Fame slugger David Ortiz.
“We just felt like it was a good add to the organization,” Red Sox director of amateur scouting Devin Pearson said. “It’s a plus that his dad is David Ortiz, but we drafted him as a prospect.”
In the 20th round, the Toronto Blue Jays took USC shortstop Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek, who is the son of former All-Star Mark Grudzielanek.
Among the other draftees with MLB family ties was Jalen Hairston, whose father, uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-uncle played in the big leagues. Hairston was taken in the 18th round by Cincinnati.
Dawson Brown was taken in the 16th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks. His dad is six-time All-Star pitcher Kevin Brown. Bennett Thompson, who was selected in the 13th round by the Cleveland Guardians, is the nephew of three-time All-Star Jason Thompson.
The Mariners took outfielder Ryan Picollo in the 20th round. He’s the son of Royals general manager J.J. Picollo.
The Oakland Athletics opened the afternoon by selecting Texas Tech right-handed pitcher Kyle Robinson with the first pick of the 11th round. That set off 10 more rounds worth of selections — separated by approximately 45 seconds per pick — until the Texas Rangers took junior college catcher Mac Rose with the last selection of the 20th round.
There were 11 players selected from Mississippi State over the 20 rounds, which led all colleges. LSU had nine players drafted.
Australian second baseman Travis Bazzana was taken by the Cleveland Guardians with the No. 1 overall pick on Sunday.
Right-handed pitcher Drew Beam, who was the workhorse of Tennessee’s College World Series-winning pitching staff, was one of the first picks on Monday, which featured rounds three to 10.
It’s not particularly rare for teams to find useful players — or even superstars — in rounds 11 through 20. Former slugger Albert Pujols hit 703 career homers in the big leagues after he was taken in the 13th round of the 1999 draft. Hall of Famers like Andre Dawson (11th round), Nolan Ryan (12th round) and Ryne Sandberg (20th round) were also late-round selections.
With the draft finished, MLB’s 30 teams will begin contract negotiations with draft picks.
Those with remaining college eligibility may sign until Aug. 1 at 5 p.m. EDT, with the remainder having until a week before the 2025 draft.
Only one player chosen in the first 10 rounds failed to reach an agreement last year: UC Irvine outfielder Caden Kendle returned for his senior year after he was selected by St. Louis in the 10th round with the 305th pick.
The gamble paid off. Kendle was a fifth-round selection by the Twins this season.
While most draft picks spend years in the minors, there are exceptions. Third baseman Nolan Schanuel made his major league debut last Aug. 18, 40 days after the Los Angeles Angels drafted him 11th overall, and Texas outfielder Wyatt Langford was on this year’s opening-day roster.
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AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed and AP Sports Writer Jimmy Golen contributed to this report.
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