Washington Nationals select Florida shortstop Colby Shelton in 2024 MLB Draft

Florida shortstop Colby Shelton has been drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 20th of the MLB Draft, taken with the No. 590 overall pick.

His selection comes after one season with the Gators, following a transfer from Alabama.

Shelton was a tremendous player at Alabama and mostly continued that level of success at Florida. As a freshman in 2023 with the Crimson Tide, Shelton earned Freshman All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball News, D1Baseball.com, Baseball America and the NCBWA. Shelton was also named to the Freshman All-SEC team.

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Shelton didn’t quite have the same level of productivity at Florida, but still put together a solid season for the Gators. Shelton hit .254 with 20 home runs, 14 doubles and a triple, for a slugging percentage of .551 in his first season at Florida. He struck out 82 times in 256 at-bats while drawing 35 walks. He finished the 2024 season with 56 RBI.

That came on the heels of a season where he hit .300 at Alabama with 25 home runs, 10 doubles and a triple. He added 51 RBI and scored 49 runs, while adding 33 walks and 10 hits-by-pitch. Shelton set the Alabama single-season home run record for freshmen by a considerable margin.

What MLB Draft analysts are saying on Colby Shelton

Shelton was ranked as the No. 133 overall prospect in the draft by MLB.com. Reviews noted his “uneven performance at the plate” as a reason his draft stock lost a little momentum.

One thing Shelton will need to work on at the next level is his strikeout rate. Notes MLB.com:

“Shelton’s carrying tool remains the power in his left-handed bat. When he showed up last fall with a more flattened out stroke, rather than his previous swing, which was much steeper in the zone, there was hope he might show more barrel consistency.

“He doesn’t have elite-level bat speed, but there’s at least average power for him to get to, and while the pop has shown up to an extent, the strikeout rate has hovered around the 25 percent he posted at Alabama. He does draw some walks to help offset it a little, but scouts are concerned about his ability to make enough contact to reach his power consistently.”

The 2024 MLB Draft takes place from July 14 through July 16. The first round is broadcast on ESPN, while the rest of the draft is being shown on MLB.com.