Texas pitcher Travis Sthele selected by the Washington Nationals in 2023 MLB Draft

Travis Sthele just got called up to the show. The Washington Nationals selected the Texas RHP with the No. 345 overall pick in the 12th round of the 2023 MLB Draft.

The honor was well-earned. Sthele posted a 5.75 ERA in 2023 through 61.0 innings pitched in 2023. The 6-foot pitcher handed out 66 strikeouts while recording only 31 walks. Sthele also held opposing hitters to a mere .266 batting average this season.

Sthele is a hometown boy. From San Antonio, Texas, Sthele was ranked as the No. 140 player in the Class of 2020 by Perfect Game. Further, he was listed as the 10th-best prospect from the Lone Star State. Washington D.C. will be a new environment for a Texas boy.

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.