Analyzing impact of MLB Draft on Clemson baseball, football

On3 imageby:Matt Connolly07/19/21

MattConnollyOn3

CLEMSON — The MLB Draft has come and gone and players now have until August 1 to decide whether to sign a professional contract or return to school.

The Clemson baseball and football programs were impacted by the draft as the Tigers received good news on some players, while others have signed or will sign professional deals and are moving on.

Here’s a breakdown of what happened with Clemson and the MLB Draft.

Clemson football MLB Draft impact

QB Will Taylor: Clemson had two quarterbacks projected to go in the first round of the MLB Draft, but neither did. Will Taylor could have been a first-round pick, but teams did not match his high asking price for him to not play college football and baseball. Taylor coming to school is obviously a boost for not only the baseball program but also for Dabo Swinney’s squad. He will add depth behind D.J. Uiagalelei and is the only healthy scholarship quarterback on the roster other than Uiagalelei. Still, Clemson won’t feel great if it has to turn to the freshman to play quarterback in a big moment. He projects as a receiver long term and playing QB as a true freshman in the ACC is not an easy task.

QB Bubba Chandler: The third-round pick of the Pirates, Chandler signed a $3 million deal and will begin his professional baseball career. He’s more of a natural quarterback than Taylor and would have stayed at QB throughout his college career had he gone to Clemson. Still, the same logic that applies for Taylor applies here — you don’t want to be counting on a true freshman quarterback in a big moment.

Clemson baseball MLB Draft impact

OF Will Taylor: Let’s start with Taylor, who projects to be an absolute star at the next level. He hits for average and power and can fly around the bases. He should come in and immediately be a starter and key part of Monte Lee’s lineup. There aren’t many legit top 10 overall prospects playing college baseball. Taylor is one of them and should be great alongside slugger Caden Grice.

Will Taylor-Clemson Football-Clemson Tigers-Clemson Baseball

Will Taylor will play football and baseball at Clemson. (Will Taylor/Twitter)

P Bubba Chandler: Chandler is a big-time pitcher who throws in the upper 90s and would have been a big part of Clemson’s pitching staff from his freshman season on, but the Tigers knew getting him to stay at school would not be easy and were prepared for him to sign and play pro ball.

INF James Parker: The former T.L. Hanna star led Clemson this past season with a .324 average, eight home runs and 38 RBIs. He was drafted by the Mariners in the eighth round and has signed.

P Keyshawn Askew: The lefty was 1-2 with a 5.84 ERA but has good stuff and was drafted by the Mets in the 10th round. He has signed and will begin his professional baseball career.

P Mack Anglin: Anglin was arguably Clemson’s top pitcher last season, going 2-6 but finishing with a 3.99 ERA. He struck out 75 batters in 56 1/3 innings to lead the Tigers in strikeouts. Clemson has a good chance to get the redshirt freshman back after he was picked in the 13th round by the Nationals. Anglin could be one of the best pitchers in the ACC next year and would have a chance to really help his draft stock.

Clemson-Tigers-baseball-Mack-Anglin

Clemson pitcher Mack Anglin could return to school after being drafted in the MLB Draft. (Ken Ruinard/Pool)

P/1B Davis Sharpe: The redshirt sophomore battled injuries throughout his career but was really good when healthy. Sharpe was 4-1 with a 5.50 ERA last season and hit .211 with three homers and 12 RBIs. He was drafted in the 13th round by Cleveland and has signed a professional deal.

P Carter Raffield: The Georgia native was 0-2 with a 5.68 ERA but throws hard. Command was his biggest issue this past season as he walked 19 batters in 19 innings pitched. Raffield was drafted by the Reds in the 14th round and has signed.

C Adam Hackenberg: The redshirt sophomore from Virginia appeared in 33 games this past season, with 32 starts. He hit .258 with three homes and 17 RBIs. Hackenberg was drafted by the White Sox in the 18th round and has signed to begin his professional baseball career.

Clemson baseball free agent signing

Two former Tigers have signed free agent deals after going undrafted. Outfielder Kier Meredith signed with the Red Sox. He hit .283 with three homers and 25 RBIs last season. Outfielder Bryce Teodosio signed with the Angels. He is very good defensively and hit .235 with eight homers and 21 RBIs this past season.

Clemson baseball players transferring

Clemson also has several players in the transfer portal or who have transferred out. Sam Hall landed at N.C. State after hitting .241 with four homers and nine RBIs last year. Raffield was also in the transfer portal, so if he wouldn’t have signed, he wouldn’t have returned to Clemson.

Other former Clemson players currently in the portal include: Patrick Bott, Connor O’Rear, Matthew Lumsden, Bo Majkowski, Rasesh Pandya, Braison Bourne, Pierce Gallo, Noah Stout, Bryson Hammer and Brett Ahalt.

Bott, O’Rear, Lumsden, Bourne, Stout, Hammer and Ahalt did not appear in a game this past season.

Majkowski appeared in six games and did not record a hit. Pandya was 0-0 with a 3.66 ERA in 19 2/3 innings. He appeared in 18 games and recorded 16 strikeouts. Gallo was 3-for-12 at the plate, with 1 RBI. He appeared in six games.

Looking ahead

Clemson has a very good recruiting class coming in and is hopeful it can get the program back competing for ACC titles and to get to Omaha.

In addition to Taylor, pitcher Billy Barlow, pitcher Rocco Reid and JUCO transfer position player Spencer Rich (.438 average, 10 HRs, 31 RBIs last year) could have been drafted and signed but chose to come to Clemson instead.

With the returning players and new additions, there’s plenty of reason for optimism around the baseball program, despite a tough 2021 season.