North Carolina catcher Tomas Frick selected by the New York Yankees in 2023 MLB Draft

This Tarheel might be heading north. The New York Yankees selected North Carolina catcher Tomas Frick with the No. 462 overall pick in the 15th round of the 2023 MLB Draft.

Frick is coming off a landmark season. The junior catcher started all 59 games played this season while boasting career-highs in every statistical offensive category. Frick didn’t only outdo himself, but his teammates, as well.

He led the team in batting average (.322), hits (75), doubles (22), multi-hit games (24) and multi-RBI games (17). Frick was the first catcher to lead the Tar Heels in hitting since Josh Rowell in 1995. While Frick finished the season with a .322 batting average, he hit .400 through the first 20 games of the season with eight home runs.

Perfect Game ranked Frick as the No. 296 overall player in the Class of 2020. However, Frick was listed as the best catcher from the state of South Carolina. Now, it’s time to become the best catcher in New York.

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.