LIVE: Iowa Baseball MLB Draft Coverage
The MLB Draft gets underway this evening at the Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas and at least one Hawkeye is expected to be selected with Brody Brecht garnering mid-first round predictions in various mock drafts. As for the rest of the draft, the Iowa coaching staff will be intently watching to see if, when and where freshman pitchers Joey Oakie and Tyler Guerin get selected. Meanwhile, guys like Cade Obermueller, Sam Petersen, Raider Tello and Andy Nelson are awaiting their selection to decide if they want to return to Iowa or begin their professional careers. It’s going to be a busy three days for the Hawkeyes.
QUICK LINK: Iowa Baseball MLB Draft Preview (on3.com)
HawkeyeReport will have you covered throughout the draft. I will be updating this article in real time as the picks come in, with immediate reaction and implications for each Iowa player selected, as well as any historical notes that apply. Bookmark this article and check back as the draft goes on.
Iowa Baseball MLB Draft Selections
COMPETITIVE BALANCE ROUND A PICK 38 – COLORADO ROCKIES – RHP Brody Brecht
SLOT BONUS: $2,452,200
REACTION: Brody becomes the highest Iowa player selected in the MLB Draft since Tim Costo went 8th overall in the 1990 draft. He is the ninth Hawkeye pitcher to get selected in the MLB Draft over the last five years and becomes the tenth top ten round pick under Rick Heller. Some will say that Brody was never quite up to expectations while at Iowa, but it’s important to remember that he nearly didn’t pitch a single game in the black and gold. Ultimately, it was the opportunity to play for Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes that got him to Iowa City. All Brody did was break the program career strikeout record (281), the single-season strikeout record (128), earn back-to-back First Team All-Big Ten honors and help Iowa to an NCAA Tournament Regional appearance in 2023.
With the Rockies, Brecht will work to improve his command, but the pitch arsenal, worth ethic and character is there for him to be a really successful pro pitcher. At his best, Brody draws comparisons to Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitching Paul Skenes, who will get the ball for the National League in the All-Star Game.
It will be interesting to see how Brody does with Colorado. The organization has been in a rebuild for a while, losing 85+ games in four of the last five seasons and are well on their way to that again. They have former Tennessee RHP Chase Dollander in their farm system, but their #15 rated prospect Gabriel Hughes is their next best right-handed pitching prospect. This was a big need for the Rockies.
MLB.com Draft Scouting Report: “When he’s on, Brecht’s fastball and slider are comparable to those of Paul Skenes, the No. 1 pick in last year’s Draft. He can sit at 96-99 mph and touch 101 with his heater, which has explosive running action and superior shape to Skenes’ fastball, though Brecht doesn’t locate his nearly as well…He’s an exceptional athlete and baseball has his full attention, so he could take off with pro instruction.”
ROUND 3 PICK 84 – CLEVELAND GUARDIANS – RHP Joey Oakie
Slot Bonus: $906,800
Reaction: This one hurts if your a Hawkeye fan. Des Moines Register’s Tommy Birch reported that Joey Oakie plans to sign with Cleveland and forgo his career at Iowa. Had Joey made it to campus, he would have been the Hawkeyes highest-rated recruit (#28 overall) to make it to campus in the Perfect Game era.
For Iowa, this is a tough pill to swallow. It is not very often that the top player in the state of Iowa stays in state. Over the last five years, the top player in the state of Iowa has gone to Duke, MLB Draft, MLB Draft, MLB Draft, Kentucky and Louisville. Finally, the Hawkeyes were able to land the top player in the state, but it doesn’t look like they are quite going to get him to campus.
MLB.com Draft Scouting Report: “Oakie attacks hitters with two pitches, and while he’s working on a sinking changeup, it’s too firm and he rarely uses it in games…Working from a low three-quarters slot, Oakie imparts a lot of armside run and sink on a 92-94 mph two-seam fastball that peaks at 97…The Iowa recruit doesn’t have an ideal starter’s size or delivery and needs to improve the consistency of his strike-throwing, but he also has a quick arm and works with little effort. He earns praise for his makeup, which contributes to his mid-rotation starter upside.”
ROUND 8 – PICK 230 – WASHINGTON NATIONALS – OF Sam Petersen
Slot Bonus: $230,900
Reaction: We knew going into the draft that Petersen was likely going to get drafted and sign. He went off the board early in the 8th round to the Nationals and becomes the first Iowa outfielder drafted since Robert Neustrom went to Baltimore in the 5th Round of the 2018 draft. He becomes the 11th top ten round pick under Rick Heller.
The Hawkeyes will now have to replace both Petersen and Kyle Huckstorf in the outfield, but they did add Kirkwood CC OF Miles Risley and Missouri OF Jackson Beaman in the portal.
MLB.com Draft Scouting Report: “While most of the scouting focus at Iowa was on the Hawkeyes’ all-prospect rotation, they also have an outfielder who could go in the top five rounds. He was posting strong numbers this spring before stress reactions in both his shins affected his swing and eventually ended his season in late April…A right-handed hitter, Petersen has improved his ability to make hard contact and his plate discipline throughout his college career. Though he shows some feel for driving the ball in the air to his pull side, some scouts question his ability to turn on quality fastballs and hit for power with wood bats.”
ROUND 9 – PICK 259 – CHICAGO WHITE SOX – RHP Jack Young
Slot Bonus: $199,200
Reaction: For the third straight year, an Iowa pitcher has been selected in the cost saving portion of the draft. In 2022 it was Dylan Nedved going in the 9th round, while Jared Simpson went in the 8th round of last years draft. Jack Young becomes the 12th top ten round pick under Rick Heller and the 10th pitcher selected in the last five years.
Young spent his final year at Iowa in the fireman role in the bullpen. He appeared in 28 games with a 2.76 ERA over 32.2 innings, including 47 strikeouts to just 12 walks.
ROUND 9 – PICK 282 – PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES – RHP Marcus Morgan
Slot Bonus: $188,200
Reaction: Marcus becomes the 13th top ten round pick under Rick Heller and the 11th Iowa pitcher selected over the last five years. It will be interesting to see how much he signs for because he likely was not a cost saving selection for the Phillies.
After a disappointing 2024 campaign to close out his career with the Hawkeyes, Marcus will look to get back to his 2024 form which nearly won him Big Ten Pitcher of the Year. I believe that the Phillies are a good landing spot for him and will give him a chance to reach his full potential. If Marcus is able to do that, this pick will end up being a massive steal for Philadelphia.
MLB.com Draft Scouting Report: “At his best, he flashes three plus offerings and he has the ceiling of a mid-rotation starter if he can provide a lot more strikes…His ERA doubled from 3.72 as a sophomore to 7.45 this spring as scouts were critical of the Hawkeyes’ pitch-calling and tinkering with his repertoire. He might be better off paring down his repertoire and throwing more fastballs to improve his command of the pitch.”
ROUND 14 – PICK 428 – MINNESOTA TWINS – RHP Jacob Kisting
Reaction: It is not yet confirmed, but a source familiar with the situation tells me that Jacob Kisting will likely sign with the Twins after getting selected in the 14th round. A transfer from Bradley, Kisting committed to Iowa back in June. The Hawkeyes have added other pitching depth through the portal with Houston LHP Bryson Walker and Houston RHP Daniel Wright. Another tough pill to swallow for the coaching staff, as Kisting was going to compete for a weekend rotation spot.
ROUND 19 – PICK 585 – TEXAS RANGERS – LHP Cade Obermueller
Reaction: Don’t panic yet, there is still a solid chance that Cade returns to Iowa next season. The Rangers have the third-lowest bonus pool in the draft, with just under $7 million available to play with. If Texas is able to sign all of their high-round picks, they will not be able to offer even close to what Obermueller is asking for. Looking at the Rangers draft, they took just one high school player, SS Devin Fitz-Gerald, while the slot bonus for their top two picks combines for nearly 61% of their bonus pool. Root for the Rangers top picks to sign.
MLB.com Draft Scouting Report: “Obermueller doesn’t generate an exceptional amount of swing and misses or chases, yet hitters have difficulty doing damage against him. His low arm slot generates a lot of run and sink on a low-90s fastball that tops out at 96 mph, and also plenty of sweep on a low-80s slider that can be a well-above-average pitch at its best. His slider breaks so much that he has difficulty landing it in the zone or getting hitters to fish for it off the plate.”
“He’s probably a reliever because of his size and lack of strikes, but he’s effective against both left-handers and right-handers…He’s very deceptive but he gets out of rhythm in his delivery and hasn’t shown the efficiency to project as a starter at the next level.”
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DRAFT COMPLETE
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