Washington RHP Case Matter selected by Texas Rangers in 2023 MLB Draft

As we get deeper into the 2023 MLB Draft, a ton of college names are coming off the board. Washington‘s Case Matter is the latest, being selected by the Texas Rangers on Monday evening. The right-handed pitcher was the No. 291 overall pick in the 10th round.

Matter spent most of his time coming out of the Washington bullpen, having just one start on the 2023 season resume. Go back a year and Matter started seven of his 19 appearances. Texas will likely have a decision to make on which route the want him to take.

In 25.1 innings, Matter finished with a 3.91 ERA, the best of his college career. He struck out 34 batters while walking 22. Matter gave up just two home runs on the season and opponents had a .191 batting average against him.

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.