Mountaineers Who Could Be Selected in 2023 MLB Draft

The 2023 MLB First-Year Player draft is set to begin Sunday, July 9th at 6 p.m. EST and will run through Tuesday, July 11th. Over the course of the three-day event, we could hear a handful of West Virginia Mountaineers have their named called.

Who exactly?

RHP Carlson Reed

West Virginia initially viewed Reed as part of the starting rotation but found out he's better served coming out of the pen. He developed into one of the best closers in the Big 12 with a fastball that sits in the mid 90s. Reed punched out 60 hitters in just 38 innings of work, finishing with an ERA of 2.61. He'll likely be the first Mountaineer selected in this year's draft.

SS Tevin Tucker

A year ago, I'm not sure Tucker was on many teams' draft boards. The speed and defense was always there, but the bat didn't come around until this season. He failed to cross the Mendoza Line in his first three seasons but saw his batting average jump clear to .318 in 2023. In addition to racking up more hits he also drew more walks leading to an OBP of .465. It's unclear where he'll be taken, but one would assume he's played his way into the draft.

C Dayne Leonard

In two years at West Virginia, Leonard drove in 71 runs, hit seven homers, and had an OBP of .395. There's some more pop in that bat than the numbers indicate and finding solid hitting catchers is something every MLB team is searching for.

RHP Blaine Traxel

Traxel is very unorthodox. He doesn't overpower hitters with velocity but can be a pain for hitters to deal with due to the several arm angles/slots he releases the ball from. Just because he doesn't have a 90+ mph fastball in his tool belt doesn't mean he can't carve out a nice role as a reliever at the next level. If you look around some of the big league rosters, you'll see plenty of guys who are in the same boat velocity-wise but know how to hit their spots and get outs. Traxel is the only one on this list with no eligibility remaining.

OF Braden Barry

Barry doesn't offer any one special trait but he does everything well. He can run, hit, hit for power, play the field, and draw walks. He's just an all-around solid ballplayer who is going to hear his name called at some point over the next few days. In three years at West Virginia, Barry was docked for just three errors, giving him a career fielding percentage of .987.

OF Landon Wallace

Randy Mazey landed a gem in the transfer portal in Landon Wallace. In his lone season with the Mountaineers, Wallace hit at a .312 clip with 11 home runs and 49 RBI. As he gets older and stronger, those power numbers will only continue to rise. Don't be surprised if you see Wallace climb his way up to the big leagues in the next three-four years.

IF Caleb McNeely

It'll be interesting to see if McNeely gets drafted considering he played just one year of major college baseball. But in that one year, he produced at a high level and showcased his power hitting 13 homers and posting a slugging percentage of .569. I believe he's done enough to be picked but we'll see.

RHP Chase Meyer (commit)

Meyer has probably the best chance of any WVU commit to be selected. His fastball is already touching the mid 90s and has one nasty slider that just falls off the table. He'll likely end up in Morgantown but if he's drafted earlier than expected, he could sign and forgo his career at WVU.

You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us on Twitter:

Facebook - @MountaineersNow

Twitter - @MountaineersNow and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.