Five Arizona Wildcats were picked in the first 10 rounds of the 2023 MLB Draft, including two Tucsonans: Kiko Romero and Chris Barraza.
The Arizona Wildcats slugger from Canyon del Oro High School could have been drafted a year ago after smacking 25 home runs at Central Arizona College and earning MVP honors in the NJCAA World Series.So Romero spent a year with his hometown school. He thrived at the UA, breaking the program’s RBI record, which had stood for almost 50 years. And now Romero is headed to pro baseball.
Romero grew up as a Diamondbacks fan. His brother and girlfriend are Dodgers fans. That’s all about to change.The Yankees took another sweet-swinging left-handed hitter from Arizona, catcher Austin Wells, in the first round of the 2020 draft. A lot of things would have to go right, but Romero can envision himself hitting home runs over the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium someday.
“It was a bit stressful at first, not knowing when my name was going to be called, playing the back-and-forth game,” Barraza said. “It was a big waiting game.Barraza began his college career at New Mexico State before transferring to Arizona in 2021. He made 49 appearances out of the bullpen the past two seasons, posting a 7-2 record with one save and a 5.91 ERA.
The Rays, renowned for developing players and competing without a big budget, picked Nichols in the sixth round. And if anyone can get the best out of Nichols, it’s the Rays. They have the second-best record in MLB despite having the fourth-lowest payroll. They rank fourth in team ERA . The Cardinals were interested in Davis when he was coming out of Franklin High School in 2020. But the draft was shortened that year because of the pandemic, and Davis wanted to further develop in college.
Wolters likely to go proOnce Davis was selected, one mystery remained for Arizona on the first day of the MLB Draft:
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