“Beef” is Baltimore bound, Brad Cumbest is headed to Coors Field, and Bill Knight might not make it to Starkville after all.
Day 2 of the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft saw four rounds of action before any players with Mississippi State ties were selected, but three Bulldogs were taken in the second half of the afternoon’s action.
Pitcher Preston Johnson was a seventh-round pick of the Orioles, Cumbest was taken in the ninth round by the Colorado Rockies, and Knight — a transfer from Mercer — went to Seattle in the 10th round.
Nearly all players taken in the top 10 rounds sign with their pro team, so Bulldogs fans hoping to see the above trio return will likely be disappointed.
But Monday proved to be a good day as far as MSU signees are concerned. Bradley Loftin, Jurrangelo Cijntje, Colby Holcombe and others all stayed off draft boards and are likely to come to Starkville.
Rounds 11-20 will be Tuesday, with players such as Kamren James, Luke Hancock and RJ Yeager hoping to hear their names called.
Any Bulldogs selected will join the four MSU players already picked, beginning with pitcher Landon Sims and catcher Logan Tanner.
MSU fans had to wait a while between Tanner’s second-round selection Sunday and Johnson’s selection by the Orioles, which opened the seventh round Monday. He was taken with the No. 197 pick, which carries a slot value of $249,000.
Johnson joins infielder Jordan Westburg as Mississippi State products in the Orioles’ system.
He took over a spot in MSU’s weekend rotation after KC Hunt went down with an early injury and stayed in the rotation for the rest of the season. Johnson led the Bulldogs in strikeouts with 117 but finished with a 5.49 ERA.
He pitched a team-high 79 innings in 2022.
Next up was Cumbest, taken with the 266th overall pick in the ninth round by the Rockies. The 6-foot-6 outfielder hit .302 with 15 home runs and 39 RBIs in 2022, putting together a solid full season after a breakout year of sorts in a partial 2021 campaign.
Cumbest could return for another year, but he is likely to accept the slot bonus offered by Colorado. The slot value for Pick No. 266 is $163, 200.
Johnson, too, is eligible to return, but a seventh-round payday is likely to be enough for the 22-year-old right-hander to accept.
Knight has only one year of eligibility remaining and pledged July 1 to spend it at MSU.
The Georgia native posted a triple-slash line of .337/.415/.642 for Mercer in 2022, hitting 17 home runs and driving in 64 runs.
The 306th pick in the 10th round, with which Seattle selected Knight, comes with a slot value of $150,800. It could be enough to make Knight a pro.
In addition to Johnson, Cumbest and Knight, former Mississippi State first baseman Josh Hatcher became a 10th-round pick of the Texas Rangers on Monday.
Hatcher resurrected his draft stock with a breakout year at Kennesaw State, leading the nation in hits. As the Owls’ everyday center fielder and leadoff hitter, Hatcher hit .391 with 26 doubles, 15 home runs and 59 RBIs.
The draft concludes Tuesday with Day 3 action beginning at 1 p.m.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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