TCU star Brayden Taylor selected by Tampa Bay Rays in 2023 MLB Draft

After a terrific career at TCU, former Horned Frog baseball star Brayden Taylor has heard his name called in the MLB Draft. With the 19th pick of the first round, the Tampa Bay Rays selected Taylor into their organization, thus beginning his professional journey.

Brayden Taylor was a flat-out hitting machine in Fort Worth. He hit north of .300 in all three seasons with his best average coming as a true freshman, when he hit .324 and recored 53 RBIs. This most recent season was his weakest average-wise at .308, but he made up for it with a career-high 70 RBIs and a career-high 23 home runs, nearly doubling his previous high.

Now, the super slugger is off to the big leagues.

More on the 2023 MLB Draft

The 2023 Major League Baseball Draft will begin during All-Star week, with the first two rounds getting underway at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. Rounds 3-10 will then begin at 2 p.m. ET on Monday, July 10, with rounds 11-20 starting at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 11.

This year’s MLB Draft is a historic one, as a draft lottery was used to determine the order for the first time. The Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland Athletics each had a 16.5% chance to receive the No. 1 overall pick. Ultimately, Pittsburgh won the right to have the first selection, with Washington finishing right behind them at No. 2. Oakland, however, fell all the way down to No. 6 overall.

While the MLB Draft is always unpredictable, the consensus is that this year’s top prospects both hail from LSU, who won the 2023 College World Series. Pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews headline this year’s class, which is considered a deep one.

Within the first ten rounds of the draft, each slot is assigned a certain value. Each team has a bonus pool that they are able to spend on these picks, and players will sign at, above or below their assigned slot value.

In rounds 11-20, there is no assigned slot value and MLB teams are free to spend up to $150,000 to sign their picks from the second half of the draft. If they exceed the $150,000 mark, that added amount will be deducted from their bonus pool.

Following the final day of the 2023 MLB Draft, selected players will have until August 1 to sign a contract.