2023 Major League Baseball Draft Sees Six Alabama Products Selected

The Crimson Tide baseball program has six new MLB draftees following its successful 2023 season.

The Alabama baseball program’s recent string of success in Major League Baseball drafts continued with the 2023 event. Six players heard their names called as pieces of the future in various big-league clubs, helping to also continue the positive trajectory that the Crimson Tide has been on since an unlikely run to a super regional. The hot streak the team went on from early May until the end of the season paid its dividends in more ways than one. Here are the players who were drafted to the major leagues throughout this week.

OF Andrew Pinckney | Washington Nationals (No. 102 Overall)

Arguably the best player on the Crimson Tide in 2023, Pinckney had his share of moments at the plate and in right field this spring. He was expected to be one of the premier players in the SEC and he did not disappoint, posting a slash line of .339/.442/.648 in just his third season playing at the college level. Pinckney was also second on the team in home runs with 18. He was the first player off the board for Alabama, taken in the fourth round with the 102nd pick by the Washington Nationals. Notably, that organization produced Juan Soto, one of the most sensational young stars in baseball, who patrolled right field in the nation’s capital from 2018 until a blockbuster trade to the San Diego Padres at last season’s deadline.

LHP Grayson Hitt | Arizona Diamondbacks (No. 112 Overall)

Hitt entered the 2023 season ranked as a top prospect, and as the ace of the pitching staff. The southpaw was limited to eight starts, sometimes struggling en route to a 4.19 ERA in 38.2 innings, before Tommy John surgery ended what was supposed to be his breakout campaign. That didn’t stop the Arizona Diamondbacks from taking Hitt with the 112th pick in the draft. Developing pitchers has been a strong point for the organization as of late. Zac Gallen, an underrated mainstay in an emerging rotation, was named the starter for the National League in the 2023 All-Star Game. The staff as a whole has been a big factor in helping a team which won 52 games just two seasons ago contend for a division title this year.

LHP Hunter Furtado | Pittsburgh Pirates (No. 167 Overall)

The Wake Forest transfer, also a left-hander, changed his team’s fortunes with two key starts in the month of May, the latter of which sent the Crimson Tide on in the SEC Tournament and kept its NCAA hosting chances alive. In those two starts, his best outings in an Alabama uniform, he went a combined 8.2 innings with nine strikeouts and just one earned run. Teams took notice of his improvement in 2023 as a started and as a reliever, and the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him in the sixth round with the 167th pick. One of baseball’s oldest organizations sent a reliever to Seattle for his second straight All-Star Game appearance (David Bednar), and a starter for his first (Mitch Keller), meaning Furtado’s versatility could be put to good use in the Steel City.

OF Caden Rose | Boston Red Sox (No. 208 Overall)

Injuries hampered the 2023 campaign of Caden Rose, whose monster postseason culminated in two home runs in the first game of the Winston-Salem Super Regional. Monster is an appropriate term, as the team to select him was none other than the Boston Red Sox at pick No. 208. Rose’s father, Kevin, posted a photo of himself and his son on Fenway Park’s iconic Green Monster in commemoration of Caden’s landing spot. The quick center fielder with pop in his bat will go down in Alabama lore for showing up in the big moments, and there is another picture of the Bob Jones (Madison, Ala.) product that will be remembered for a long time, a shot of him elated after scoring the winning run in the regional game against Troy.

SS Jim Jarvis | Detroit Tigers (No. 320 Overall)

Some fans might have thought it a surprise to see collegiate Gold Glove winner Jim Jarvis still available at the 320th pick, but it was a good break for the Detroit Tigers, who snapped him up right there. An uber-popular star player at shortstop, Jarvis spent four years as one of the hearts and souls of the team, a staple in the leadoff spot whose defensive skills rivaled any player in the country. It’s fitting that he’s from San Diego, because his two-strike hitting is one of his notable attributes, reminding veteran baseball fans of the exploits of one Tony Gwynn. Detroit is still trying to figure out how to get all its pieces together, and a player like Jarvis who’s good on offense and defense makes those matters easier. Though a tough postseason at the dish took Jarvis’s 2023 batting average down a few notches, he spent virtually the entire regular season above .300 territory, and his glove never wavered, nor did his quickness on the basepaths.

RHP Garrett McMillan | Pittsburgh Pirates (No. 407 Overall)

The Tuscaloosa native was drafted in 2022 by the Minnesota Twins, who evidently like what they see from Crimson Tide pitchers, but did not sign. Instead, he returned to the Capstone for a second season in hopes of leading his team to new heights. Despite being shelved with an injury until April, McMillan stepped up as one of the most important arms for Alabama, shutting down Auburn twice in a pair of key games and posting a 4-2 record in nine starts. McMillan is something of a workhorse, with the ability to give teams innings and work well even with high pitch counts. He was the final Alabama player taken, going in the 14th round with the 407th pick to another team that apparently really likes Alabama pitchers, the Pirates.

See Also:

Alabama Football Commit Julian Sayin on The Joe Gaither Show: Episode 36, July 10, 2023

Caden Rose Keeps Alabama Baseball in the Fight in First Winston-Salem Super Regional Game

Changing Sides: Alabama Pitcher Hunter Furtado Familiar With Wake Forest