2017 MLB Draft Division II Recap

The newest class of Division II players has gone through the rigors of the 2017 MLB Draft, and we had 73 players hear their names called over the three-day event. That is a bit of a down tick compared to the 92 drafted in 2016 and 84 drafted in 2015. However, Tampa had seven players drafted, the most of any D-II school in any of the last three years, besting the previous high of five (Cal Poly Pomona and Tampa - 2015). We've only been keeping track of such things since 2015, so there isn't much history, but I have to think seven is a large number for any year.

On Tuesday, day two of the MLB Draft, nine Division II products came off the board, led by Tampa's Garrett Cave, who went 126th overall to the San Francisco Giants. Cave was widely considered the top D-II prospect, ranking 88th in MLB.com's pre-draft top 200, the only D-II prospect on the list. He bested 2016's top D-II pick, Tyson Miller, but just barely (134th).

On day three, there was a Division II player drafted in every round between the 18th and the 39th rounds, including six drafted in round 22.

Mount Olive had five players drafted, all pitchers, and had the best average pick number of any school with at least three selections this year (five schools).

The Sunshine State Conference, for the second time in the last three years, had 15 draft picks (2015). All 15 south region picks came from the SSC. The SIAC and GSC did not have a single draft pick this year.

The Southeast region (17) and the West region (16) led all regions in number of draft picks. The Southeast's breakdown came to seven from the Conference Carolinas, six from the South Atlantic Conference, and four from the Peach Belt Conference.

For the third straight year, the highest number of D-II draft picks by any one MLB team was seven. And for the first time in three years, it was *not* the St. Louis Cardinals. The Toronto Blue Jays claimed the top spot this year. The Cardinals, however, took the second-most, with five. They have now drafted 19 D-II players over the last three years.

With all that said, here is a list of all 72 NCAA Division II draftees in the 2017 MLB Draft, by round first. Below that is a breakdown of how the draft played out in various forms.

Round 4

126. Garrett Cave (Tampa) - San Francisco Giants - RHP - JR

Round 5

140. Bruce Zimmerman (Mount Olive) - Atlanta Braves - LHP - SR

Round 6

182. Dalton Lehnen (Augustana) - New York Yankees - LHP - JR

Round 8

230. John Curtis (Lenoir-Rhyne) - Atlanta Braves - LHP - SR
235. Connor Riley (USC Aiken) - Los Angeles Angels - RHP - SR
240. Holden Capps (Central Oklahoma) - Kansas City Royals - LHP - SR

Round 9

268. Bligh Madris (Colorado Mesa) - Pittsburgh Pirates - OF - SO

Round 10

290. Jacob Belinda (Lock Haven) - Atlanta Braves - RHP - SR
308. Josh Keaton (Adams State) - Baltimore Orioles - RHP - SR

Round 11
335. Garett King (California Baptist) - Detroit Tigers - RHP - JR

Round 12
369. Matt Shannon (Angelo State) - Toronto Blue Jays - RHP - JR

Round 13
399. Brody Rodning (Minnesota State) - Toronto Blue Jays - LHP - JR
400. Marshall Kasowski (West Texas A&M) - Los Angeles Dodgers - RHP - JR

Round 16
472. Jeff Bain (Cal Poly Pomona) - Arizona Diamondbacks - RHP - JR
473. Kyle Dohy (Cal Poly Pomona) - Philadelphia Phillies - LHP - JR
481. Adrian Tovalin (Azusa Pacific) - Houston Astros - 3B - JR
482. Ricky Surum (Mount Olive) - New York Yankees - SS - SR
484. Jake Walsh (Florida Southern) - St. Louis Cardinals - RHP - JR

Round 18
541. Tim Hardy (Tusculum) - Houston Astros - LHP - SR
546. Chris Robett (Rollins) - San Francisco Giants - C - SR

Round 19
559. Tyler Day (Colorado Mesa) - Tampa Bay Rays - RHP - SR
573. Kevin Santa (Tampa) - Seattle Mariners - SS - SR

Round 20
604. Brandon Benson (Georgia College) - St. Louis Cardinals - OF - SR

Round 21
624. Dylan File (Dixie State) - Milwaukee Brewers - RHP - SO
631. Chas McCormick (Millersville) - Houston Astros - RF - SR
632. Bryan Blanton (Catawba) - New York Yankees - RHP - JR
633. Connor Hoover (North Georgia) - Seattle Mariners - SS - JR

Round 22
646. Christian Broussard (Cal State-L.A.) - Minnesota Twins - RHP - JR
657. Joseph Benitez (USC Aiken) - Chicago White Sox - LHP - SR
659. J.D. Osborne (Tampa) - Miami Marlins - C - SR
667. Joshua Payne (West Texas A&M) - New York Mets - RHP - SR
671. Hunter Haworth (Chico State) - Boston Red Sox - RHP - JR
672. Clark Scolamiero (North Greenville) - Cleveland Indians - CF - JR

Round 23
677. Adrian Chacon (Tampa) - Cincinnati Reds - RHP - SR
679. Zack Mozingo (Mount Olive) - Tampa Bay Rays - RHP - SR
689. Tyler Curtis (Lynn) - Miami Marlins - 3B - SR
695. Mitchell Stalsberg (Winona State) - Detroit Tigers - LHP - JR
705. Brady Miller (Western Oregon) - Chicago Cubs - RHP - JR

Round 24
712. Jancarlos Cintron (Nova Southeastern) - Arizona Diamondbacks - 2B - SR
724. Thomas St. Clair (Lenoir-Rhyne) - St. Louis Cardinals - RHP - SR

Round 25
761. Kory Behenna (Wingate) - Boston Red Sox - LHP - JR
765. Mitch Stophel (King) - Chicago Cubs - RHP - SR

Round 26
772. Abraham Almonte (Philadelphia U.) - Arizona Diamondbacks - LHP - SR
777. Michael Staudinger (Azusa Pacific) - Chicago White Sox - OF - SR
783. Austin Hutchison (Mount Olive) - Seattle Mariners - RHP - SR

Round 27
804. Cody Martin (Tampa) - Milwaukee Brewers - RHP - JR
814. Kody Whitley (Mount Olive) - St. Louis Cardinals - RHP - JR
817. Billy Oxford (Azusa Pacific) - New York Mets - RHP - JR

Round 28
837. Laz Rivera (Tampa) - Chicago White Sox - IF - SR
847. Jeremy Vasquez (Nova Southeastern) - New York Mets - 1B - JR
853. Nic Perkins (Drury) - Washington Nationals - C - JR

Round 29
878. Matthew Hammonds (Sonoma State) - Baltimore Orioles - LHP - SR
879. Joe DiBenedetto (Nova Southeastern) - Toronto Blue Jays - LHP - SR

Round 30
906. Sean Watkins (Cal State-L.A.) - San Francisco Giants - CF - JR
915. Cam Balego (Mercyhurst) - Chicago Cubs - IF - SR

Round 31
918. Tyler Benson (Bloomsburg) - San Diego Padres - LF - JR
939. Graham Spraker (Quincy) - Toronto Blue Jays - RHP - SR

Round 32
963. Ryan Garcia (Point Loma) - Seattle Mariners - 1B - SR
971. Taylor Ahearn (Cal State-San Marcos) - Boston Red Sox - RHP - JR
972. Mitch Reeves (Florida Southern) - Cleveland Indians - RF - SR

Round 33
999. Matthew Gunter (Hawaii Pacific) - Toronto Blue Jays - LHP - SR

Round 34
1010. Ricky Negron (Tampa) - Atlanta Braves - UTL - SR
1030. Dan Jagiello (LIU Post) - Los Angeles Dodgers - RHP - SR

Round 35
1042. Zachery Almond (Catawba) - Arizona Diamondbacks - C - JR
1059. Brandon Polizzi (Cal State-Dominguez Hills) - Toronto Blue Jays - CF - JR

Round 36
1069. Kyle Goodbrand (UC San Diego) - Tampa Bay Rays - RHP - SR
1088. Tyler Coolbaugh (Angelo State) - Baltimore Orioles - SS - SR

Round 37
1098. Logan Browning (Florida Southern) - San Diego Padres - LHP - JR
1117. Joshua Walker (New Haven) - New York Mets - LHP - SR
1119. Justin Watts (Southern Indiana) - Toronto Blue Jays - RHP - SR

Round 38
1128. Jeremy Smith (SW Oklahoma State) - San Diego Padres - RHP - SR

Round 39
1169. Brandon Boone (St. Edward's) - Miami Marlins - RHP - SR
1174. Christopher Hunt (Henderson State) - St. Louis Cardinals - RHP - SR

And here are some breakdowns of the draft picks:

No. of MLB Draft Picks for Each Division II School

Seven Selections
Tampa (Avg. Pick - 669.4)

Five Selections
Mount Olive (Avg. Pick - 579.6)

Three Selections

Azusa Pacific (Avg. Pick - 691.7)
Florida Southern (Avg. Pick - 851.3)
Nova Southeastern (Avg. Pick - 812.7)

Two Selections

Angelo State
Cal Poly Pomona
Cal State-Los Angeles
Catawba
Colorado Mesa
Lenoir-Rhyne
USC Aiken
West Texas A&M

One Selection

Adams State
Augustana
Bloomsburg
Cal State-Dominguez Hills
Cal State-San Marcos
California Baptist
Central Oklahoma
Chico State
Dixie State
Drury
Georgia College
Hawaii Pacific
Henderson State
King
LIU Post
Lock Haven
Lynn
Mercyhurst
Millersville
Minnesota State
New Haven
North Georgia
North Greenville
Philadelphia Univ.
Point Loma
Quincy
Rollins
Sonoma State
Southern Indiana
St. Edward's
SW Oklahoma State
Tusculum
UC San Diego
Western Oregon
Wingate
Winona State

No. of MLB Draft Picks for Each Division II Conference

15 Selections

SSC

Nine Selections

CCAA

Seven Selections

Conference Carolinas
PacWest

Six Selections

SAC

Four Selections

LSC
PBC
PSAC

Three Selections

GLVC
NSIC
RMAC

Two Selections

GAC

One Selection

CACC
ECC
GNAC
Heartland
MIAA
NE-10

No. of MLB Draft Picks for Each Division II Region
Atlantic - 4
Central - 6
East - 3
Midwest - 3
South - 15
South Central - 8
Southeast - 17
West - 17

No. of Division II MLB Draft Picks by Listed Position on MLB.com

C - 4

1B - 2

2B - 1

SS - 4

3B - 2
IF/UTL - 3

(INF - 12 + 4 C's)

LF - 1

CF - 3

RF - 2

OF - 3

(All OF - 9)

RHP - 32

LHP - 16

(P - 48)

Position Players - 25

Pitchers - 48

No. of Division II MLB Draft Picks by School Year

Sophomores - 2

Juniors - 29

Seniors - 42

No. of Division II Picks for Each MLB Team

Seven Selections

Toronto Blue Jays

Five Selections

St. Louis Cardinals

Four Selections

Arizona Diamondbacks
Atlanta Braves
New York Mets
Seattle Mariners

Three Selections

Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox
Houston Astros
Miami Marlins
New York Yankees
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
Tampa Bay Rays

Two Selections

Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Los Angeles Dodgers
Milwaukee Brewers

One Selection

Cincinnati Reds
Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Angels
Minnesota Twins
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
Washington Nationals

Zero Selections
Colorado Rockies
Oakland Athletics
Texas Rangers