Kentucky baseball stars Ryan Waldschmidt, Émilien Pitre picked on day one of MLB draft

Kentucky baseball star outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt fell out of the first round of the 2024 MLB draft on Sunday but did not have to wait much longer to hear his name called.

The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Waldschmidt with the 31st pick, the first pick after the end of the first round. The Diamondbacks received an extra pick at No. 31 as part of a new MLB rule that rewarded them for outfielder Corbin Carroll winning MLB Rookie of the Year in 2023.

Waldschmidt starred for two seasons at Kentucky after transferring from Charleston Southern.

As a junior, he hit .333 with 14 home runs and 25 stolen bases to help the Wildcats to the first College World Series berth in program history. Waldschmidt rocketed up MLB draft prospect lists this spring thanks to impressive exit velocities and other advanced metrics, according to draft pundits.

The Athletic ranked Waldschmidt as the No. 11 prospect in the draft class. MLB.com ranked him No. 23.

Waldschmidt’s breakout season came after he tore his ACL in the prestigious Cape Cod League last summer. He was limited early in UK’s season but quickly became one of the Wildcats’ most dangerous hitters while returning to left field and batting leadoff.

“Every time he’s at the plate he’s going to do damage,” UK designated hitter Nick Lopez said of Waldschmidt during UK’s postseason run. “He hits the ball hard. Whenever he’s up, you know he’s going to get us started off with a spark. That gets our offense going.”

Waldschmidt went cold during the super regional and College World Series, but UK coach Nick Mingione credited his return to full health as one of the catalysts for the Wildcats’ run.

“Two totally different hitters, but I feel like with him when we had (former Mariners first baseman) Evan White,” Mingione said. “When Evan White stepped to the plate, you just knew something good was going to happen. Evan was never out of an at-bat. Waldy is never out of an at-bat.”

Waldschmidt missed becoming UK’s first first-round pick since 2019, but he is the sixth-highest drafted Wildcat in program history.

UK second baseman Émilien Pitre was selected 24 picks later at No. 58 overall by the Tampa Bay Rays in the second round.

Pitre, who hit .301 with 10 home runs, 58 RBI, 57 runs scored and 26 stolen bases for UK this season was ranked as the 173rd-best prospect in the draft class by MLB.com.

“Coached 26 guys to make it to the big leagues; he’s as good as any player I’ve ever coached because he’s focused, he cares, and he’s honest,” Mingione said of Pitre. “He’s really honest. He’s brutally honest with our team, our players, himself. He can self-evaluate himself as good as any player. And it’s a gift.”

The signing bonus slot value for the No. 31 selection is $2.9 million. For the No. 54 pick, it is $1.53 million.

MLB teams are assigned a total bonus pool equal to the sum of the value of each of their picks. The team can go over or under the value for each pick as long as they stay within a certain range of their total pool without incurring penalties.

Pitre being drafted earlier than expected could mean the Rays will sign him for less than $1.53 million and use the savings on a player they must go above slot value to land. That player could be Illinois prep outfielder Tyler Bell, a UK signee, who the Rays drafted with the No. 81 pick.

While Waldschmidt, Pitre and Bell all have the option to play for Kentucky in 2025, almost every player picked in the first 10 rounds of the draft will sign a professional contract. Teams lose the value of any unsigned picks from their bonus pool, necessitating a certain level of confidence their selections will sign before they are made.

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