UNC baseball: Two North Carolina baseball commits selected in the 2017 MLB Draft

Entering the baseball offseason, North Carolina had 14 commits set to report to campus this summer. After day two of the 2017 MLB Draft, that number could drop by two now that Austin Beck and Buddy Kennedy have been drafted.

Outfielder Austin Beck was considered a top 10 talent for this draft class and was ranked no. 9 by MLB.com. On Monday, Beck was actually selected sixth overall by the Oakland Athletics. Going by his draft slot value, that means he’s sitting on somewhere around $5,303,000 and could get even more if Oakland goes all-in for him. This essentially means that the North Davidson recruit is not coming to Chapel Hill.

Third baseman Buddy Kennedy was considered the no. 229 draft prospect this year and ranked fifth in the state of New Jersey. On Tuesday, Kennedy was taken in the fifth round by the Arizona Diamondbacks. At 142nd overall, his slot value calls for a $356,900 payday, which may or may not be enough for him to forgo going to college.

Other than these two, no other commits have been selected as of yet, though right-handed pitcher Joe Lancellotti is ranked at no. 190 on Baseball America’s top 500 list of draft prospects. This likely means he will end up getting drafted, but he still could end up at UNC.

As we’ve previously written, right-hander J.B. Bukauskas was drafted by the Houston Astros 15th overall. Shortstop Logan Warmoth was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays 22nd overall. Outfielder Brian Miller was also taken at 36th overall by the Miami Marlins. Let’s see who else is drafted on day three.