Breaking: The Tennessee Volunteers, who had won the College World Series, saw their key player taken by the Kansas City Royals on the second day of the MLB draft.
Drew Beam played a crucial role in Tennessee’s pitching squad during their journey to win the College World Series. Now, the right-handed pitcher aims to contribute to the rising Kansas City Royals.
Beam was among the early picks on the second day of Major League Baseball’s amateur draft, selected by the Royals with the 76th overall pick in the third round. Day 2 of the draft covered rounds three to ten.
On Sunday, Australian second baseman Travis Bazzana was chosen as the top overall pick by the Cleveland Guardians.
It is anticipated that players chosen on Monday, particularly those chosen in the first rounds, will sign big contracts. The Athletics selected Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, an infielder from Rutgers, with the first pick in the third round. His estimated slot value was slightly over $1 million, making him the 75th pick overall.
Six high school players and 23 four-year university players were selected in the third round by MLB teams, indicating that college players continue to be preferred over high school prospects. Out of the thirty candidates chosen in the fourth round, 27 came from college programs.
Following three earlier selections in the first round, Wake Forest had two more players, pitchers Josh Hartle and Michael Massey, selected on Monday.
In the first two days of the draft, Beam was selected along with eight other Tennessee players.
Beam was the starting pitcher for Tennessee, going 9-2 with a 4.22 ERA and the team-high 99 strikeouts in 102 1/3 innings pitched. In two College World Series appearances, he gave up just two runs in nine innings.
The Royals also selected A.J. Causey, a pitcher from Tennessee, in the fifth round.
