BOCA RATON – This week’s MLB Draft didn’t to much harm to the makeup of the current FAU baseball team.
The damage came at the expense of the Owls’ 2017 signing class.
FAU coach John McCormack expects at least two of the FAU signees drafted on Wednesday to turn pro and potentially all three could skip college baseball altogether.
McCormack said State College of Florida first baseman Ryan Karstetter, a 19th round selection by Detroit, has already signed with the Tigers. He expects Coral Springs pitcher Max Lazar, an 11th round pick by Milwaukee, to sign with the Brewers.
Tampa-Steinbrenner first baseman/outfielder PK Morris, a 14th round selection by Toronto, is currently in negotiations with the Blue Jays. McCormack is planning on Morris eventually reaching a deal.
Junior pitcher Alex House was the only current Owl selected in the draft. Shortly after Houston took the righty in round No. 24, House announced his intention to leave FAU and sign with the Astros.
No FAU seniors were chosen in the draft, and juniors David Miranda – who led the Owls in homers with 12 – and lefthanded pitcher Jake Miednik were not chosen. Without the option of signing as free agents, they are expected to return to FAU for their senior seasons.
“It was kind of shocking a little bit,” McCormack said after seeing only one of his players selected. “I thought some of our current players, Miranda and Miednik especially, those two guys had done enough and heard from enough teams that they were going to get taken.”
There’s still time for seniors like Stephen Kerr and Austin Langham to sign free agent contracts. MLB teams often don’t start pursing undrafted free agents until they have a firm grasp of their minor league needs. That doesn’t always become clear until the teams have signed – or failed to sign – the player’s they recently drafted, which can take a couple of weeks.
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