Ohio State outfielder Kade Kern selected by the Atlanta Braves in 2023 MLB Draft

Kade Kern has found a home. The Atlanta Braves selected the Ohio State outfielder with the No. 519 overall pick in the 17th round of the 2023 MLB Draft.

Kern batted .283 this season while recording 30 RBI. Additionally, Kern boasted a career-high .402 on-base percentage in 2023. The 6-foot outfielder cranked six home runs in 44 games for the Buckeyes.

Kern’s junior season wasn’t his only solid campaign. The Ohio native was named to Second Team All-Big Ten, Big Ten All-Freshman Team and Freshman All-American team by Collegiate Baseball during his freshman season. Kern was selected as a Third Team All-Big Ten member in his second year on the team.

Perfect Game ranked Kern as the No. 239 overall player in the Class of 2020. Further, Kern was listed as the second-best outfielder from his home 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.