Strength of the program on display with 4 picks in the first five rounds. Brewers take three high schoolers committed to IU.
By Carl James @jovian34 July 18th, 2024
The whirlwind that has been days 2 and 3 of the 2024 MLB Draft has come to a conclusion. Hoosiers made history by getting four current players drafted in the first five rounds, a first for the program. With six total picks Indiana was among to the top 21 teams in the country in draft picks and the best in the Big Ten Conference (B1G) including the four schools joining next year from the now defunct Pac-12 Conference.
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Day 2 picks
The draft class was led by junior right-handed pitcher Luke Sinnard. Sinnard was Indiana’s staff ace his sophomore year after transferring from Western Kentucky. He holds Indiana’s single-season strikeout record. Sinnard had surgery to repair an elbow injury and did not play in his junior season.
Day 2 also included the 4th round (competitive balance) pick of junior outfielder Nick Mitchell. Mitchell came to Indiana as a transfer from Western Illinois and was an offensive machine with an eye-popping .972 OPS.
Day 2 saw the Hoosiers get two fifth round picks in junior centerfielder Carter Mathison and sophomore right hand pitcher Connor Foley. Mathison holds the Indiana record for freshman home runs with 19 in 2022. He played every game of his three seasons and developed into a really impressive centerfielder in his junior campaign. Foley was draft eligible as a sophomore due to being 21 before the cutoff date at the end of this month. Foley took over as the staff ace from the injured Sinnard. He went 4-2 with a 4.71 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 63 innings pitched.
Day 3 picks
On the final day of the draft junior catcher/first-baseman Brock Tibbitts and sophomore right-handed pitcher Brayden Risedorph heard their names called. Tibbitts was an absolute steal in the thirteenth round. Hitting .313 and coming back from a mid-season leg injury to be named to the Knoxville Regional All-Tournament team at first base to conclude the season. Tibbitts was drafted as a catcher, his natural position, which he played half time before the leg injury. Risedorph was used in multiple roles on the mound throughout the past season including Friday starter, closer, and fireman. He had a 4-7 record with 2 saves and an 8.31 ERA.
Three incoming freshmen drafted by Milwaukee
The big surprise of the draft was the Milwaukee Brewers using 13% of their draft picks to take three high schoolers that had committed to Indiana. Right-handed pitcher Griffin Tobias went in the 9th round (usually a spot for college seniors). Infielder Cooper Malamazian and righty Henry Brummel went late on day 3.
Now the Hoosiers will have to see what these three do. They have the option to not sign and start their careers in Bloomington, but Milwaukee likely would not have drafted them without a plan to sign them. They have a lot of leverage in bonus negotiations and given how the Brewers under-drafted with their first two picks, there is likely to be a decent amount of slot money available. In a year that saw the fewest high schoolers taken in the draft overall (103 in 20 rounds), this shows just how good Indiana’s recruiting has been.