Day 2 of the 2024 MLB Draft was good news for UVA Baseball fans, in that none of the five incoming recruits who could have had their names called between Rounds 3 and 10 were taken off the board.
Not only that, but I have to admit, I’m shocked that outfielder Harrison Didawick, who hit a school record-tying 23 homers as a draft-eligible sophomore in 2024, is still on the board, but this is probably more good news for UVA fans.
I saw Didawick projected as high as the mid-60s by the scouting sites, which could have had him going as soon as the second round, but the draft is now through Round 10, and he’s still out there.
Maybe he sent word to teams that he wanted to stay another year at Virginia? That’s all I can think at this point.
There could be a decision to make for an incoming transfer, rising senior Will Riley from VMI, who was taken in the eighth round by the Seattle Mariners.
The pick value there, per MLB.com, is $212,900, so, I don’t think he goes for that amount, but it’s possible.
Outfielder Casey Saucke was the lone member of the 2024 roster taken on Monday, going in the fourth round to the Chicago White Sox, at a pick value of $682,200, so, good for Saucke.
The last of our guys still out there is right-handed pitcher Jay Woolfolk, who some analysts had projected as high as the third round, and was almost a certainty to go by the end of Day 2.
I’d wonder if Woolfolk comes back for a fourth year at UVA, given the unexpected free-fall, though I doubt it.
In addition to Woolfolk, we’ll be watching out for those five incoming recruits: outfielder James Nunnallee (ESPN: #52), right-handed pitcher Trey Gregory-Alford (The Athletic: #89), left-handed pitchers Tomas Valincius (MLB.com: #107) and William Kirk (MLB.com: #110), and third baseman Aiden Harris (MLB.com: #168).
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Chris Graham
