Ryan Waldschmidt talks MLB Draft, Kentucky's success on MLB Tonight

Now that the dust has settled on Kentucky Baseball’s historic season, it’s time for several Cats to turn their attention to what’s next: the MLB Draft. This year’s event takes place July 14-16 in Fort Worth, Texas in conjunction with MLB All-Star Weekend. Kentucky’s top draft prospect is All-American outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt, who is projected to be a first-round pick.

Over the weekend, Waldy appeared on “MLB Tonight” to talk about Kentucky’s first-ever trip to the College World Series and what’s next. Right now, Waldschmidt is No. 21 in MLB.com’s prospect rankings, and there’s some buzz he could go even higher, possibly in the top ten. If so, he would join Evan White (2017, R1 P17) and Zack Thompson (2019, R1, P19) as the third first-round pick of the Nick Mingione era.

“All those guys who got picked before me, they all had their great careers and I think that’s led up to all the guys like me coming through,” Waldschmidt said. “Those are the guys we look up to and to just be in the conversation with those same names is pretty awesome.

“I think for Coach Minge and the coaching staff at Kentucky, this is what they’re striving to build and this is what going to take the university to the next level and if I’m a piece of a puzzle that continues to help us climb that ladder and become a known baseball program, it’s just huge.”

Waldschmidt finished the 2024 season hitting .333 across 59 games played. His 25 steals were the second-most in the Nick Mingione era while his 66 runs ranked third-most. He added 14 home runs and 46 RBI to his stat line. For that, he was named Third Team All-American by Baseball America, All-American by Perfect Game, and ABCA/Rawlings All-District and Second-Team All-SEC.

Waldschmidt was particularly good against SEC teams, batting over .400 against conference foes over his two seasons as a Kentucky Wildcat. He told the “MLB Tonight” crew that playing in the SEC has only made him, and Kentucky’s squad as a whole, better.

“Every weekend you’re playing top competition. You’re playing the best of the best every weekend. There’s no inning you ever take off, there’s no play you can ever take off because the other team is going to capitalize on it.”

Waldschmidt grew up in Bradenton, Florida, which is just south of Tampa. In turn, he’s a lifelong Tampa Bay Rays fan and there’s some talk the Rays could bring him home with the No. 18 pick. Hear him talk about the Rays, his offseason training plan, and what it was like to face former LSU star turned MLB rookie sensation Paul Skenes below.

The first and second rounds of the MLB Draft take place on July 14 starting at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Ryan Waldschmidt was a standout performer for @UKBaseball and projects as a potential first-round pick in next month's MLB Draft!

He joined #MLBTonight to discuss the evolution of the Wildcat baseball program, his experience facing Paul Skenes in the SEC and more. pic.twitter.com/XjBaSrdwOA

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) July 1, 2024