LSU pitcher Christian Little selected by New York Mets in 2023 MLB Draft

LSU right-handed pitcher Christian Little was selected in the 19th round of the 2023 MLB Draft by the New York Mets with the No. 576 overall pick.

Little transferred from Vanderbilt in the offseason, making this season the first one in Baton Rouge, La., for the junior. He was 2-2 with a 7.79 ERA in 19 games with eight starts.

With the Commodores, he made 14 starts in 34 appearances over his two seasons with the team.

Little was the last of the 13 Tigers players chosen in the 2023 MLB Draft. SEC Pitcher of the Year Paul Skenes went No. 1 overall to the Pittsburgh Pirates and SEC Player of the Year Dylan Crews went No. 2 to the Washington Nationals.

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 like Christian Little will have until August 1 to sign a contract.