South Carolina second basemen Braylen Wimmer selected by Colorado Rockies in 2023 MLB Draft

South Carolina is coming off a great season and is being rewarded in the 2023 MLB Draft. Another Gamecock player is off the board, with second basemen Braylen Wimmer being selected by the Colorado Rockies. The pick occurred in the eighth round, coming in at No. 232 overall.

Wimmer spent four seasons with South Carolina and was considered a major contributor over the past three. The middle infielder played in 56 games in 2023, hitting for a .304 average. His OPS was certainly eye-popping, coming in at .970.

A career high in home runs and RBIs flooded in from Wimmer, having 14 homers and batting in 42. He was more patient at the plate as well, walking 30 times — nearly double more compared to the 2022 season.

A successful career in Columbia, Wimmer is now off to play in the Colorado organization. Hopefully, the journey to the Majors is just getting started.

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.