Auburn infielder Cole Foster selected by San Francisco Giants in 2023 MLB Draft

Auburn infielder Cole Foster is off to the pros after he was officially selected in the 2023 MLB Draft. With the 15th pick of the third round, Foster was scooped up by the San Francisco Giants.

His entrance into the professional ranks comes after a stellar career at Auburn. Foster came in and was an immediate contributor for the Tigers. He wasn’t an everyday starter and saw just 24 at bats back in 2021 as a rookie, but he came through with a .292 average. The next season, he was promoted to starter at second base, where he as a consistent part of the lineup all year.

His best season overall came just this past year, when Cole Foster transitioned to the premier in-fielding position (shortstop) and set career marks across the board as a hitter. He flew past the .300 threshold to hit .336 while also knocking in 49 RBIs and 13 home runs along the way.

Heck of a career and hopefully a heck of a future for this star Tiger infielder.

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.