Magdiel Cotto Selected in 11th Round of MLB Draft by Pittsburgh Pirates

Another Bat ‘Cat has been drafted into the majors.

On Tuesday afternoon in the 2023 MBL Draft, Kentucky baseball’s junior left-handed pitcher, Magdiel Cotto, was selected in the 11th round with the 317th overall pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He is the third Wildcat to hear his name called so far after RHP Austin Strickland (8th round; also headed to the Pirates) and RHP Logan Martin (12th round; Kansas City Royals) were taken earlier in the process.

Cotto, who transferred to Kentucky from South Carolina ahead of the 2022 season, came into 2023 as a top 70 college baseball prospect by D1Baseball. During his junior year at UK, Cotto posted a 1-0 record with an ERA of 6.00 across 16 appearances and 18 total innings pitched, striking out 26 batters along the way. He was slightly more productive as a sophomore in 2022, going 3-1 in 15 appearances (nine starts) with an ERA of 6.06 across 32.2 innings with 36 strikeouts.

Clocking in at 6-foot-4, 250 pounds, Cotto is a native of Charlotte, NC but moved down a state to play his high school ball at Fort Mill (SC). He was tabbed as the top high school player from the state of South Carolina in 2020 before attending the home state South Carolina Gamecocks as a freshman. While there, he appeared in eight games as a true freshman out of the bullpen, allowing 10 hits while striking out nine batters.

After spending two more seasons in the college ranks at Kentucky, Cotto can now take his talents to the majors.