Washington infielder Coby Morales selected by the New York Yankees in 2023 MLB Draft

I hope Morales is well-rested because the city that never sleeps is calling his name. The New York Yankees selected the Washington infielder with the No. 552 overall pick in the 18th round of the 2023 MLB Draft.

Morales was a top dog for the Huskies this season, starting all 55 games. The California native didn’t waste the opportunity, posting a .332 batting average with a .548 slugging percentage and a .432 on-base percentage.

Morales ranked second on Washington with 12 home runs and 52 RBIs. Furthermore, the 6-foot-3 third baseman had the seventh-most walks in the Pac-12 with 40. Altogether, Morales boasted 21 multi-hit games and 14 multi-RBI performances.

Perfect Game ranked Morales as the No. 500 overall player in the Class of 2020. Additionally, Morales was listed as the 12th-best third baseman from his home state.

More on the 2023 MLB Draft

The 2023 Major League Baseball Draft will begin during All-Star week, with the first two rounds getting underway at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. Rounds 3-10 will then begin at 2 p.m. ET on Monday, July 10, with rounds 11-20 starting at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 11.

This year’s MLB Draft is a historic one, as a draft lottery was used to determine the order for the first time. The Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland Athletics each had a 16.5% chance to receive the No. 1 overall pick. Ultimately, Pittsburgh won the right to have the first selection, with Washington finishing right behind them at No. 2. Oakland, however, fell all the way down to No. 6 overall.

While the MLB Draft is always unpredictable, the consensus is that this year’s top prospects both hail from LSU, who won the 2023 College World Series. Pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews headline this year’s class, which is considered a deep one.

Within the first ten rounds of the draft, each slot is assigned a certain value. Each team has a bonus pool that they are able to spend on these picks, and players will sign at, above or below their assigned slot value.

In rounds 11-20, there is no assigned slot value and MLB teams are free to spend up to $150,000 to sign their picks from the second half of the draft. If they exceed the $150,000 mark, that added amount will be deducted from their bonus pool.

Following the final day of the 2023 MLB Draft, selected players will have until August 1 to sign a contract.