How the 2023 MLB draft affected the Florida Baseball team

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The 2023 MLB Draft has come and gone with six Florida baseball players having their names called and two signees. As far as the draft goes, this is great news for the Florida Gators. Florida’s signing class was rated No. 5 in the country according to Perfect Game and the Gators will keep all but one of the 17 signees.

Florida had just two players from the signing class drafted. This isn’t for a lack of skill or professional prospects. Draft players have a number they will sign for and each player has a different — what teams call — “signability.” The life of a Division I baseball player can be much better than that of a player in the lower levels of minor league baseball. The Gators charter planes to travel, stay in nice hotels and have state-of-the-art facilities. Spending three years in the SEC can turn a player drafted in the middle rounds into a top five round pick, which also will typically have them start their career in the higher levels of the minor leagues.

The Gators lost New Jersey right-hander Steven Echavarria, who signed for double the slotted value for the 72nd pick in the draft. Infielder Stone Russell was the only other player selected. He is already on campus and working out with the other summer enrollees.

Gators baseball players draft and signing bonuses

OF Wyatt Langford – Round 1, Pick 4 (Texas Rangers) | Signed for $8,000,000
RHP Hurston Waldrep – Round 1, Pick 24 (Atlanta Braves) | Signed for $2,997,500
RHP Brandon Sproat – Round 2, Pick 56 (New York Mets) | Signed for $1,474,500
(Signee) RHP Steven Echavarria – Round 3, Pick 72 (Oakland Athletics) | Signed for $3,000,000
SS Josh Rivera – Round 3, Pick 81 (Chicago Cubs) | Signed for $725,000
LHP Philip Abner – Round 6, Pick 175 (Arizona Diamondbacks) | Signed for $300,000
INF Colby Halter – Round 17, Pick 496 (Oakland Athletics) | Signed for $125,000

Total: $16,622,000 million

All six of the Florida baseball players who were on the 2023 team have signed their professional contracts. When Wyatt Langford signed his deal it was the fifth-largest signing bonus in MLB draft history. It has since been surpassed by Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews, who both signed for north of $9,000,000. Hurston Waldrep was also drafted in the first round and signed with the Atlanta Braves.

Langford and Waldrep both had their names called in the first round, making the duo the 18th and 19th first-round picks in program history (25 including the post-secondary phase). Sproat also went in the second round on Sunday night, as Florida was one of three schools in the nation with a trio of day one selections. The Gators also produced four selections inside the top 85 with Rivera going in the third round, which tied for the most in the nation.

As a result, Florida now boasts 220 unique draft picks in team history including an eye-popping 105 in the Kevin O’Sullivan era. Since O’Sullivan’s 2008 arrival in Gainesville, Florida’s 13 first-round selections rank second in the country. Also during that time, the Orange & Blue has seen 22 pitchers chosen in the first-five rounds. That total is tied for third nationally. In all, 58 Gator pitchers have been drafted in 16 seasons under O’Sullivan, equating to 3.6 per year.

Gators signing class

Liam Peterson – RHP
Luke McNeillie – RHP
Christian Rodriguez – RHP
Reilly Witmer – RHP
Grayson Smith – RHP
Frank Menendez – LHP
Stone Russell – SS (drafted 18th round by Kansas City Royals)
Blake Brookins – OF
Alex Philpott – RHP
Caden McDonald – RHP
Sammy Mummau – INF
Jacob Gomberg – LHP
Hunter Jones – RHP
John Martinez – SS
Robert Satin – LHP
Hayden Yost – OF

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