Kansas baseball coach Dan Fitzgerald and his staff do everything they can to get a sense from their MLB Draft-eligible players on how high they’ll need to get selected in order to leave KU and go pro.
They then calibrate their personnel accordingly based on what they learn.
But, as Fitzgerald said on his “Hawk Talk” radio show Friday night, the KU roster can also survive a scenario in which it gets absolutely “decimated” by the draft.
“Think about this,” he said. “If we get just crushed by the draft and all those guys sign, what an amazing thing for our program, that in two short years of time, we’ve produced that many guys to move into professional baseball. So we are certainly ready for it.”
The guys in question are most of the Jayhawks’ primary contributors from last season, at least the ones who haven’t already exhausted their eligibility like Collier Cranford, Hunter Cranton, Reese Dutton and Jake English.
That includes, at the top of the list, infielder Kodey Shojinaga, a draft-eligible sophomore at 21 years old who along with pitcher Tegan Cain was invited to last week’s MLB Draft Combine in Phoenix.
But those two are just the tip of the iceberg for possible draftees, given that Fitzgerald also mentioned infielders Michael Brooks and Ben Hartl and pitchers J’Briell Easley, Ethan Lanthier and Evan Shaw.
Tegan Cain pitches on the mound during the 2024 Draft Combine at Chase Field on Wednesday, June 19, 2024 in Phoenix.
Kansas third baseman Michael Brooks (6) reaches for a ground ball hit by TCU’s Chase Brunson during the second inning of an NCAA baseball game on Saturday, March 9, 2024, in Lawrence. Brunson was out on the play.
Kansas pitcher J’Briell Easley yells out in celebration after getting out of a jam against Nebraska, Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence.
Essentially, as Fitzgerald explains it, any player who gets selected will have to weigh the potential development afforded by another year at KU against what he might gain from participating in extended spring training with an MLB franchise. The ultimate result, when the draft takes place from July 14-16 in Arlington, Texas, is “three days in July where you celebrate and almost mourn the opportunity, too.”
“Because it’s not just that they’re gone and you miss the innings,” he said. “It’s also, Evan Shaw’s an incredible teammate and an unbelievable person and you want to be around him and we had one year with him.
“And so there’s part of you that’s like, ‘No, I want him back because I just want to coach him again.’ And then you’re like, ‘He’s left-handed, throws 94, has a wipe-out slider.’ Those guys pitch in the big leagues for a long time. Same thing with Ethan, same thing with a bunch of these guys.”
Players will have to determine based on where they get selected in the 20-round draft exactly what their path to the pros looks like.
“If you go in the first round and they give you $5 million, it’s a pretty good indicator that it’s time to go,” Fitzgerald said. “If you go in the 19th round and they give you a ham sandwich and a glove, it’s a pretty good indicator to come back.”
Part of what makes the process unpredictable, in terms of draft evaluation, is the manner in which certain players’ seasons progressed. For example, Fitzgerald said he believed Brooks was “well on his way to being drafted and signing” before a late-season broken hand cast his status into doubt. On the flip side, Easley was injured earlier in the year but had his absolute best showing in the final game of the season on a big stage against regular-season champion Oklahoma when he struck out 11 batters “in front of about 60 scouts.”
Fitzgerald and company place an emphasis on those pre-draft meetings with their players because they want to “take the emotion out of” the process. Otherwise, he said, “You could be the last pick of the 20th round or even be a post-draft free agent sign, and there’s going to be part of those guys that are so excited because they’re fulfilling this dream of playing professional baseball.”
Offseason movement continues
All the draft intrigue builds against the backdrop of players arriving on campus for summer school and KU’s ongoing transfer-portal efforts. Fitzgerald wasn’t able to comment on specific transfers on “Hawk Talk” (they haven’t yet signed financial aid agreements), but spoke generally about how he and his staff have approached recruiting.
Loading up the bullpen was a particular area of interest, he said.
“It’s a lot of needs to address, and I think specifically, you look at Cranton and Cain at the back,” Fitzgerald said. “Those guys were so dangerous, but especially Hunter with all the saves that he had, really just slammed the door on so many games.”
Indeed, the Jayhawks have already earned commitments from five right-handed pitchers in Jake Cubbler (USC Upstate), Brandon Downer (Cal Baptist), Eric Lin (South Alabama), Connor Maggi (Gardner-Webb) and Malakai Vetock (Creighton).
Fitzgerald also alluded to the middle infield, where Cranford has graduated and Brooks and Shojinaga are up in the air. As it happens, KU has commitments from former Minnesota second baseman Brady Counsell and St. Cloud State shortstop Sawyer Smith.
Finally, Fitzgerald mentioned the catcher position post-English, and that Hartl’s eligibility for the draft could cast it into potential doubt.
Key players that are definitely coming back next year, according to Fitzgerald, include infielders Chase Diggins and Ty Wisdom, outfielder Mike Koszewski and pitchers Cooper Moore and Dominic Voegele.
Voegele may be the headliner for next season’s Jayhawks after his Big 12 Conference freshman of the year selection, the second in the row for KU following Shojinaga’s in 2023.
Voegele is gaining valuable experience this summer at the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team training camp in North Carolina; Fitzgerald said pitching coach Brandon Scott is slated to see him throw in a scrimmage on Wednesday, and Fitzgerald himself will head down for a game on Sunday.
It’s all in advance of a 2025 campaign where Voegele projects to serve as the Friday night starter, Fitzgerald said, and “Dom just needs to continue to be Dom.”
“You pitch on Friday nights, which we fully anticipate him doing that, there’s a little bit different target on you when you’re the Friday night guy and you’re the reigning Big 12 freshman of the year,” Fitzgerald said. “So I think the next step for him is to handle that success.”
Jill Weisleder/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Jill Weisleder/MLB Photos via Getty Images
AP Photo/Colin E. Braley
Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World