Arkansas OF commit Kendall George selected by Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023 MLB Draft

The childhood dreams of high school outfielder Kendall George came true on Sunday night as the Arkansas commit was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers with the No. 36 overall pick in the competitive balance round of the 2023 MLB Draft.

George attended Atascocita high school in Humble, Texas where his trademark and the name of his game was speed. The  5-foot-11, 165-pound outfielder has some room to grow physically as a player, but his speed is already next level, clocking a 6.16-second 60-yard-dash at the Perfect Game 2022 National Showcase, making him arguably the fastest player in this year’s class.

The left-handed hitter excels at using his speed to get on base, reaching base 10 times in 18 plate appearances to help Team USA secure the gold medal in the 18-and-under World Cup in 2022, adding stole five bases to his stat line.

George committed to Arkansas in 2020 as a freshman, but has clearly come a long way as a professional prospect since then, and it will be interesting to see which path he now pursues moving forward.

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.