Missouri pitcher Chandler Murphy selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2023 MLB Draft

Chandler Murphy, welcome to the MLB. The Tampa Bay Rays selected the Missouri pitcher with the No. 363 overall pick in the 12th round of the 2023 MLB Draft.

Murphy had an excellent season for the Tigers, posting a 5.47 ERA through 74 innings pitched. The Arizona native recorded an impressive 63 strikeouts while only throwing five wild pitches in 2023. While Murphy succeeded in Mizzou, he wasn’t always a Tiger.

Before heading to the SEC, Murphy spent his first two seasons at Arizona. While there, Murphy had limited playing time due to injury, specifically in his sophomore season. Nonetheless, Murphy posted a season ERA of 9.73 with a 1-2 record in 28.2 innings of work across 13 games.

Perfect Game ranked Murphy as the No. 222 player in the Class of 2019. However, he was also listed as the No. 1 pitcher from Arizona. If Murphy goes pro, he will no longer be in Missouri or Arizona, instead he’ll journey to the Panhandle 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.