The 2024 Major League Baseball Draft continued on Monday with rounds 3 through 10 and a number of other Bay Area talents were chosen.
One night after the Oakland Athletics chosen Nick Kurtz from Wake Forest No. 4 overall, The A's have signed two promising local talents to bolster their farm system.
The San Francisco Giants signed a school player from the South Bay and overall several players with ties to the Bay Area were taken off the board.
Here is a breakdown of the local candidates chosen on day two:
Rodney Green Jr., OF, Oakland Athletics (4th round): Green, a Richmond native, played three seasons at Cal, where he hit .283/.398/.549 as a Golden Bear. He was a four-year starter at El Cerrito High, where he was an outfielder and pitcher.
“It was great to see an East Bay native stay home and have so much success at the college level in his hometown,” Cal head coach Mike Neu said in a press release. “He had a great three-year career at Cal, but he has only just begun to scratch the surface of what kind of baseball player he can become.”
He is a strong, left-handed outfielder with above-average speed. Although his power impressed scouts, his nearly 30% strikeout rate raised concerns on the draft.
Still, Green's skills were enough for the A's to pick him within the fourth round (No. 104). He was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and is eighth on Cal with 34 home runs.
“A lot of people in the area are rooting for him,” El Cerrito baseball coach Kenny Paysinger told the Bay Area News Group. “He's a very hard-working, humble kid who deserves all the good that comes his way. I think it's great for the area. … It's great for the city of Berkeley, the city of El Cerrito, the city of Richmond and for anyone who follows this kid.”
Matt Ager, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates (sixth round): Ager, a native of Pleasanton, was a pitcher at UC Santa Barbara for 3 seasons, posting a 4.02 ERA in 62.2 innings pitched with the Gauchos in 2024.
The Foothill High graduate was named to the All-Big West Second Team last season. He played pitcher and first baseman for the Falcons under coach Angelo Scavone and helped Foothill win the East Bay Athletic League championship his senior 12 months.
Ager was chosen within the sixth round as number 174. His nickname is “Eggman.”
Robert Hipwell, 3B, San Francisco Giants (sixth round): Hipwell, a native of Scotts Valley, posted a batting average of .273/.442/.515 during his junior season at Santa Clara.
“He was obviously suspended and missed a lot of time this year because of that, but I had the opportunity to talk to him and really get to know him as a person,” said Michael Holmes, the Giants' senior director of amateur scouting. “I was really impressed with his personality and feel good about what he has accomplished and what he plans to do in the future. It's important for us to recruit talent, but we also want to bring the right people into our organization and we believe Robert is that kind of person and player.”
He emerged as a promising talent in his sophomore season in 2023, hitting .329/.500/.706, but that season was cut short after he tested positive for an undisclosed performance-enhancing drug.
Hipwell was chosen within the sixth round as number 178.
Aaron Parker, C, Toronto Blue Jays (sixth round): The Los Altos High School graduate was named to the 2021 All-Bay Area News Group Fab 40 selection and was an All-Big West selection for UC Santa Barbara last season.
Parker was a two-sport athlete in highschool: football and baseball. As a freshman, he helped Los Altos to its second Central Coast Section championship in 2018. As a senior in 2021, he batted .562 (41 for 73) with 12 home runs and 41 RBIs.
During his junior 12 months at Santa Barbara, he was among the many top five hitters within the Big West in batting average, slugging, OPS, RBI, home runs and runners caught stealing.
The Blue Jays chosen him with the 187th pick within the sixth round.
Brock Moore, P, Seattle Mariners (seventh round): Spent two seasons at Division III Menlo College before transferring to the University of Oregon, where he was a key player within the Ducks' bullpen.
Moore had a 5.81 ERA with 52 strikeouts last season.
He was chosen within the seventh round (No. 213 overall)
Davis Diaz, C, Oakland Athletics (eighth round): Diaz is a Pittsburgh native who graduated from Acalanes High School. Although he played infield at Vanderbilt, he was drafted by Oakland as a catcher.
In his junior season with the Commodores, he posted a batting average of .248/.350/.385 with seven home runs and 39 RBIs. He struck out 44 times and walked 39. Oakland chosen him first (No. 226 overall) within the eighth round.
Diaz was previously drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks within the twelfth round out of Acalanes in 2021. He won gold medals with the United States national baseball team in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
“Davis is the reason people want to coach and stay coach,” Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin said on the Commodores' team website. “His willingness to learn is incredible.”
Matt Halbach, 3B, Chicago Cubs (tenth round): Halbach, a 2021 graduate of Archbishop Mitty High School, was named to the Fab 40 by the Bay Area News Group during his senior 12 months.
The Los Gatos native posted a .408 batting average with 18 RBIs and three home runs at UC San Diego last season, but missed 19 games as a consequence of an oblique abdominal muscle injury.
Halbach was chosen within the tenth round with pick No. 302.
Originally published:
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