Madison West, Middleton alums picked in 3rd round of MLB Draft
MADISON, Wis. — A pair of local baseball products will have a chance to begin a professional career after being picked in the third round of the Major League Baseball draft.
Former Madison West star Drake Baldwin, who has been playing catcher at Missouri State since graduating, was picked by the World Series champion Atlanta Braves 96th overall on Monday afternoon. Baldwin was named second-team all-Missouri Valley Conference in 2021. He was ranked as the fourth-best baseball prospect in Wisconsin in 2019 and was the second-best catching prospect in the state after hitting .324 as a senior for the Regents. Baldwin was also a star hockey player, scoring a state-leading 43 goals as a junior.
Baldwin was ranked as the 143rd overall prospect in this year’s draft class by Baseball America and 137th by MLB Pipeline. Scouts say he projects as a bat-first catcher, but could improve defensively with more coaching.
https://twitter.com/MSUBearBaseball/status/1533542203620003842
Baldwin was not the only Madison-area player selected Monday afternoon, as outfielder and Middleton alum Alan Roden was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays soon after at 98th overall.
Roden graduated in 2018 after hitting .520 in Big 8 play during his final season and earning first-team all-state honors before going to Creighton to begin his college career. After redshirting during his 2019 season, Roden only played in three games for Creighton during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. This past season, he hit .378 with a .476 on-base percentage and .685 slugging percentage with 9 home runs and 47 RBI, earning Big East Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Big East honors.
MLB Pipeline projects Roden to be an above-average hitter as a professional, rating his hitting tool as a 55 on the 20-80 scale.
The second day of the MLB Draft continues Monday afternoon. Results can be found here on MLB’s website.
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