Landen Maroudis, top NC State baseball recruit, drafted
The headliner of the NC State baseball recruiting class, righthanded pitcher Landen Maroudis, was the lone player currently associated with the Wolfpack program to have his name called during rounds 3-10 of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft Monday. The selections continue with the final 10 rounds Tuesday.
Maroudis, a product of Largo (Fla.) Calvary Christian, was chosen in the fourth round by the Toronto Blue Jays with the No. 121 pick overall. That carries a slot value of $547,100, but the Blue Jays are likely to exceed that to ensure that Maroudis does not end up enrolling at NC State.
Teams can go over slot values in signing players, but clubs are limited in how much they can exceed the total allocated bonus pool before incurring penalties. That means the Blue Jays would have to save money in other signings to come up with the cash to afford Maroudis.
Odds are that Toronto will be able to do so. Teams in recent years have rarely been unable to sign their top-10 round choices.
Maroudis was considered the most likely NC State baseball recruit to go highest in the draft. MLB.com, ESPN.com, The Athletic, Sporting News and Prospects Live all had Maroudis ranked among the top 85 players in the draft.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder was a two-way standout for Calvary Christian. As a senior, Maroudis batted .400 with 4 homers in 90 at bats.
On the mound, however, is where Maroudis was prioritized. He went 8-1 in 13 appearances, including 10 starts, and had a 2.07 earned run average (ERA). He struck out 86 batters over 54.0 innings pitched and allowed just 38 hits while walking 10.
“Maroudis is a solid infield prospect, a good athlete who can swing the bat well, but his future at the next level lies on the mound,” MLB.com’s scouting report stated. “The 6-foot-3 right-hander has the chance to have an excellent three-pitch mix. His fastball had touched 96 mph early in the spring, though that velocity backed up a bit as he tired a bit thanks to his two-way duties.”
Landen Maroudis Becomes Second Player Associated With NC State Baseball to be Drafted
Maroudis joined NC State junior third baseman Gino Groover in being drafted. Groover was taken in the second round Sunday by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Two notable NC State baseball recruits who were not chosen Monday were righthanded pitcher Chance Mako from from Salisbury (N.C.) East Surry High and catcher Alex Sosa from Viera (Fla.) High.
Opinions vary on the two, but MLB.com, ESPN.com and Prospects Live all has the duo rated among the top 200 players in the draft and borderline top-5 round selections. (Note that The Athletic and Sporting News’ lists only go to 100 prospects.)
High school catching is traditionally a challenging scout, and some teams are wary of using high picks on one. Sosa’s importance to NC State was increased by freshman Cannon Peebles’ decision to transfer to Tennessee.
With both Mako and Sosa still on the board, odds increase that they will be in Raleigh next spring.
Another player that could potentially join Groover and Maroudis in being selected is UNC Wilmington pitcher Brett Banks, who has committed to join the Wolfpack next year if he does turn pro.
D1Baseball.com rated Banks the No. 100 collegiate prospect, while Prospects Live had him at No. 378 overall. The latter ranking would suggest that Banks is a prime candidate to be an early day three selection.
