UNC Baseball: The impacts of the 2023 MLB Draft

As the 2023 MLB Draft is set to get underway, Scott Forbes and the UNC baseball program are keeping close tabs on some of their high school commitments.

The Major League Baseball Draft has a major impact on college programs across the country.

Of course, some of the country’s best college-level talent is up for grabs, but the draft also includes high school standouts who are committed to joining various programs.

Before they even get to arrive on campus, Major League teams have the opportunity to draft them in hopes of signing them. As the 2023 MLB Draft gets underway, the UNC baseball program has been tabbed as one of the programs with the riskiest recruiting classes.

According to D1Baseball’s rankings, the Diamond Heels have two high school commits among the top 150 ranked players. Walter Jenkins, who is as near of a lock to go pro as it gets, comes in at No. 4 overall, while right-hander Jason DeCaro sits at No. 142.

Shooter Hunt breaks down his “risk” factors regarding the Diamond Heels heading into the draft:

"RISK: Jenkins is gone, so let’s not talk much about the potential first overall pick as a Tar Heel, but the rest of this group fluctuates perilously between backfields and campus. Decaro, RHP Boston Flannery, and RHP Francesco Capocci could easily be a weekend rotation that is throwing to durable backstop, C Luke Stevenson, in the mind of head coach, Scott Forbes, but until Tuesday passes without a selection, that dream is far from a reality. Beyond those guy at the top, spring helium grabber, OF Zyhir Hope, was an absolute monster in gaining the admiration of the scouting community."

Although the Tar Heels would love to have all of their commits arrive on campus, Hunt’s gut feeling seems to think that the majority of the class will remain intact:

"GUT FEEL: Obviously Jenkins will sign, but I feel strongly that at least 2 of the 3 arms (DeCaro, Flannery, Capocci) will make it to campus, and I lean even more heavily that one of them will be DeCaro. Hope likely signs, but Stevenson checks in at a Chapel Hill dorm room and begins his pursuit of excellence with the tools and production that helped him garner PBR North Carolina Player of the Year accolades in 2023."

Fans of the UNC baseball program will be keeping a close eye on the MLB Draft, as the future of the Diamond Heels will certainly be impacted based on how the draft board falls.

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