31 players with Alabama baseball roots chosen in 2024 MLB draft

With 15 prospects who played at Alabama high schools and colleges among the 300 selections in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday, the event concluded with 31 picks with Alabama baseball roots.

Tuesday featured two selections from Samford, the first for the Bulldogs this year.

The prospects who played at Alabama high schools and colleges who were picked during the 11th through 20th rounds of the baseball draft on Tuesday included:

· The Cleveland Indians chose Samford shortstop Garrett Howe in the 11th round at No. 325.

· The St. Louis Cardinals chose Alabama outfielder Ian Petrutz in the 12th round at No. 351.

· The Cincinnati Reds chose Auburn pitcher Will Cannon (Central-Phenix City) in the 12th round at No. 359.

· The Chicago White Sox chose Alabama pitcher Pierce George in the 13th round at No. 379.

· The Detroit Tigers chose Chipola pitcher Lucas Elissalt (Coastal Alabama-South) in the 13th round at No. 386.

· The Chicago White Sox chose Alabama outfielder T.J. McCants in the 16th round at No. 469.

· The Cincinnati Reds chose South Carolina Upstate pitcher Trent Hodgdon (Smiths Station) in the 17th round at No. 509.

· The Minnesota Twins chose Air Force third baseman Jay Thomason (Auburn High) in the 17th round at No. 518.

· The Detroit Tigers chose Southern Union State pitcher Bryce Alewine in the 18th round at No. 536.

· The Minnesota Twins chose Samford pitcher Michael Ross in the 18th round at No. 548.

· The Los Angeles Angels chose Baker High School pitcher Connor Gatwood in the 19th round at No. 562.

· The Toronto Blue Jays chose Thompson High School first baseman D’Marion Terrell in the 19th round at No. 577.

· The Los Angeles Dodgers chose Northwest Florida State outfielder Chase Williams (Stanhope Elmore) in the 19th round at No. 580.

· The Kansas City Royals chose Oklahoma outfielder Carter Frederick (Chelsea, Snead State) in the 20th round at No. 587.

· The Washington National chose Florida third baseman Colby Shelton (Alabama) in the 20th round at No. 590.

The selections on Tuesday also included Leon (Florida) High School left-hander pitcher Chase Davis, who is a South Alabama commitment, in the 19th round by the Detroit Tigers, and McIntosh (Georgia) High School catcher Chase Fralick, who is an Auburn commitment, in the 20th round by the San Diego Padres.

Among the 615 players chosen during the three-day draft, Alabama produced six, Auburn three, Samford and South Alabama two apiece and Alabama State, Montevallo, Southern Union State and Troy one each.

After no players were drafted directly from an Alabama high school in 2023, three were chosen in 2024, and 16 prospects who played at Alabama high school were among this year’s selections.

The prospects who played at Alabama high schools and colleges who were picked in the first two rounds on Sunday included:

· The New York Yankees chose Alabama pitcher Ben Hess in the first round at No. 26.

· The New York Yankees chose Vanderbilt pitcher Bryce Cunningham (Headland) in the second round at No. 53.

· The Miami Marlins chose Oxford High School shortstop Carter Johnson in the second round at No. 56.

· The Cincinnati Reds chose LSU pitcher Luke Holman (Alabama) in Competitive Balance Round B at No. 71.

The prospects who played at Alabama high schools and colleges who were picked during the third through 10th rounds on Monday included:

· The Miami Marlins chose Alabama second baseman Gage Miller in the third round at No. 92.

· The Baltimore Orioles chose Auburn pitcher Chase Allsup (Dothan) in the fourth round at No. 127.

· The Kansas City Royals chose Tennessee pitcher A.J. Causey (Sparkman, Jacksonville State) in the fifth round at No. 138.

· The Kansas City Royals chose Texas A&M pitcher Tanner Jones (Thorsby, Jacksonville State) in the sixth round at No. 167.

· The Boston Red Sox chose South Alabama outfielder Will Turner (Auburn High) in the seventh round at No. 207.

· The San Francisco Giants chose Alabama pitcher Greg Farone in the seventh round at No. 208.

· The Houston Astros chose South Alabama outfielder Joseph Sullivan (Vestavia Hills) in the seventh round at No. 223.

· The Los Angeles Angels chose Alabama State shortstop Randy Flores in the eighth round at No. 232.

· The Atlanta Braves chose Montevallo pitcher Logan Samuels (Winfield City) in the eighth round at No. 251.

· The New York Yankees chose Auburn pitcher Tanner Bauman in the ninth round at No. 271.

· The Toronto Blue Jays chose Mississippi State pitcher Colby Holcombe (Central-Florence) in the ninth round at No. 277.

· The Los Angeles Dodgers chose Troy outfielder Kole Myers in the ninth round at No. 280.

Howe led off the picks with Alabama baseball roots on Tuesday after he played in 218 games in four seasons with a .304 career batting average at Samford. Howe hit .369 in 2024, when he scored 73 runs in 58 games. The All-Southern Conference shortstop hit eight home runs and had a .573 slugging percentage as a senior after hitting six home runs with a .373 slugging percentage in his first three seasons.

A transfer from Maryland, Petrutz started every game in left field for Alabama during the 2024 season. The left-handed batter hit .321 and compiled a .447 on-base average, thanks in part to being hit by pitches 20 times. Petrutz also walked 30 times while striking out 26.

A transfer from Northwest Florida State, Cannon pitched in 40 games, with starts, in two seasons with the Auburn. The right-hander compiled a 3-3 record with a 5.57 earned-run average and seven saves.

A transfer after pitching in three games for Texas in 2023, George worked in 12 games out of the bullpen in his only season at Alabama. The 6-foot-6 right-hander posted a 1-0 record with a 4.76 ERA in 11.1 innings with the Crimson Tide. He struck out 10 and walked 11 in 2024.

A transfer from Coastal Alabama-South, Elissalt went 6-2 with a 4.85 ERA in 15 starts and struck out 78 in 65 innings at Chipola in 2024. The 6-foot-4 right-hander pitched for the Bay Minette-based Coyotes in 2023 and had a 3-6 record with a 5.91 ERA in 15 games. He struck out 63 in 56.1 innings for CAS.

A transfer from Ole Miss, McCants started 56 games in center field in his only season at Alabama. He led the Crimson Tide with 14 steals (in 15 attempts) and did not make an error in the outfield. The left-handed hitter had a .306 batting average, and 16 doubles, two triples and 15 home runs helped him compile 50 RBIs and a .583 slugging percentage in 56 games in 2024.

A transfer from West Virginia, Hodgdon had a 2-3 record with a 7.39 ERA in 24 relief appearances for South Carolina Upstate in 2024. In 31.2 innings, the 6-foot-3 right-hander struck out 51 and walked 18. An All-State selection at Smiths Station as a senior, Hodgdon had an 8-1 record with a 1.28 ERA and struck out 81 in 49.1 innings in 2021.

A three-time All-Mountain West Conference selection, Thomason shared the league’s Tony Gwynn Player of the Year Award with New Mexico State’s Jake Holland in 2024. Thomason batted .358 with a .763 slugging percentage, and by hitting 21 home runs for the second season in a row, he became the MWC career leader with 58. He batted .426 as a senior at Auburn to earn All-State selection. The Twins listed Thomason as a third baseman although he played mainly second base for Air Force.

Alewine had a 5-3 record with a 4.86 ERA in 14 starts for Southern Union in 2024. In his first season with the Bison, the 6-foot-3 right-hander had 48 strikeouts in 66.2 innings.

Ross rebounded after missing the 2023 season due to injury to earn the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year Award for the 2024 campaign. Ross went 13-0 to set Samford’s single-season record for pitching wins and boost his career record to 20-1. The right-hander earned first-team All-American recognition from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association as he had a 3.27 ERA with 88 strikeouts in 96.1 innings.

An Auburn signee, Gatwood was drafted a s pitcher by the Angels although he was an All-State designated hitter for Baker in 2024, when he batted .418 with six home runs and 36 RBIs. The 6-foot-5 right-hander made only five starts on the mound for the Hornets as a senior because of an oblique injury and a broken finger.

Baker coach Tyler Minto described Gatwood’s potential as “incredible,” and he was rated No. 103 among the eligible draft prospects by MLB.com.

“He’s going to be a 100-mph arm,” Minto told AL.com’s Ben Thomas. “We told him all last year he had the potential to play baseball for a living, and that’s rare today with the limited number of minor-league teams and all the other factors. It’s special to get that chance.”

Thompson’s Terrell made All-State as a utility player in 2024 as he batted .426, with 10 home runs, 42 RBIs and 41 runs for his Alabaster high school. An Auburn commitment, Terrell was rated No. 153 among the eligible draft prospects by MLB.com.

“What I like and what scouts like is, obviously, his makeup,” Thompson coach Frankie Perez said before the draft. “You know, he’s 6-3, his bat discipline, his plate discipline. He’s able to recognize bad pitches and good pitches.”

In his freshman season at Northwest Florida State, Williams batted .379 with a .473 on-base average as he scored 71 runs and stole 29 bases in 55 games in 2024. A Florida College System Activities Association gold glove winner in the outfield, Williams was planning to transfer to Florida State for the 2025 season before he was drafted.

Frederick hit .343 at Oklahoma in 2024, but he played in only 13 games because of a broken thumb. A .346 hitter at Chelsea, Frederick went to Auburn but did not play in the 2021 season. Across the 2022 and 2023 campaigns, the 6-foot-4 outfielder batted .422 with a .532 on-base average, .779 slugging percentage, 118 runs, 105 RBIs and 25 home runs in 107 games for Snead State in Boaz.

In 2023, Shelton was named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and D1Baseball.com as he hit 25 home runs to set the Alabama record and tie the SEC record for a freshman. Shelton left the Crimson Tide for Florida and hit 20 home runs in 2024 for the Gators.