NC State baseball prospects in the MLB Draft

This Sunday evening marks the first round of the MLB Draft, a three-day affair that starts with rounds one and two and the two competitive balance rounds that occur after each. It appears unlikely that anyone associated with NC State baseball will hear their names called then.

Rounds three through 10 are Monday afternoon, and that is when the action might begin for the NC State baseball program. The final 10 rounds are Tuesday, where more names from the Pack could be called.

Here is a rundown based on three listings of the top MLB Draft prospects involving current and prospective NC State baseball players to watch.

Current NC State Baseball Players

• ESPN.com and MLB.com both have NC State left-handed pitcher Chris Villaman as the top prospect on the current Wolfpack roster. ESPN has Villaman at No. 153 in its rankings, highest of any current NC State baseball player in each of the three surveys perused. MLB.com has Villaman checking in at No. 224.

ProspectsLive.com is an outlier on Villaman at No. 347, but odds suggest that NC State’s closer could hear his name called in day two between rounds 5-10.

Villaman had a 3.40 earned run average (ERA) over a team-high 28 appearances this year. He struck out 85 batters for NC State over 55.2 innings and had 11 saves.

• The other current NC State baseball player that appears in the top 300 is shortstop Josh Hood. He ranged from No. 214 on ESPN.com to No. 272 on ProspectsLive.com. MLB.com was closer to ESPN at No. 224.

Those rankings would suggest that Hood is also projected to be a top-10 round choice. Hood has already been drafted once, going in the 20th round a year ago to the Boston Red Sox, but Hood elected to complete his transfer from Penn to NC State instead of turning professional.

This past season, Hood batted .268 with 13 homers and 52 runs batted in (RBI) while slugging .498 and getting on base at a .350 clip.

• After Villaman and Hood, who else might hear their names picked?

One option could be outfielder Dominic Pilolli. The transfer from Charlotte hit .261 with nine homers from the left side of the plate and added 33 RBI. He had a .494 slugging percentage and .382 on-base mark.

ESPN.com views Pilolli as a top-10 round choice, ranking him at No. 250. ProspectsLive.com has Pilolli as a potential day-three choice, rating him No. 357.

• ProspectsLive.com does see former NC State ace Sam Highfill as a day-two worthy choice despite missing most of this season dealing with a back injury. Two seasons ago, however, Highfill went 9-2 in 16 starts and had a 3.66 ERA by allowing just 77 hits and 26 walks over 93.1 innings and striking out 84 batters.

Highfill was limited to just six starts in 2022, and was hit fairly hard, giving up 29 hits and walking 10 in 27.2 innings and having a 5.53 ERA. ProspectsLive.com has Highfill rated No. 279.

• ProspectsLive.com also rates pitcher Matt Willadsen as a day three caliber prospect at No. 508. Willadsen had a 5-4 record with a 4.19 ERA in 88.0 innings this spring, giving up 81 hits and walking 45 while striking out 95.

NC State Baseball Recruits

There is a clear consensus on who is the top prospect from the NC State baseball signing class to watch in the MLB Draft: local outfielder Eli Serrano. ProspectsLive.com (No. 141) and MLB.com (No. 194) each have Serrano rated among the top 200, and ESPN.com is not far behind at No. 226. Those rankings would suggest that Serrano could be picked as high as round five.

“Multiple evaluators say when Serrano is on a roll, it’s possible to look at his 6-foot-6 frame and his left-handed swing and dream of Christian Yelich,” MLB.com wrote, referring to the Milwaukee Brewers star outfield. “With his leverage and projectable bat speed and strength, he could produce 25-30 home runs on an annual basis.”

However, Serrano had a shoulder injury this spring, and MLB.com noted, “It’s unclear if he’ll get taken high enough to divert him from his North Carolina State commitment.”

ProspectsLive.com has a much larger rankings of 600 names, and they include another local outfielder, speedy Michael Gupton at No. 375, plus Bronx pitcher Robert Evans at No. 434. At face value, each would be day three choices, where high school signings become increasingly rarer.

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