Notre Dame baseball commit Owen Murphy selected in first round of 2022 MLB Draft
Notre Dame baseball commit Owen Murphy officially has a decision to make. Turn professional out of high school, or go to college? The Atlanta Braves likely made that an easy choice Sunday night.
The Braves selected the 18-year-old Murphy with the No. 20 overall pick in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft. Murphy has been committed to Notre Dame since Sept. 14, 2019. The 6-1, 195-pound Murphy was the Illinois Gatorade High School Player of the Year as a senior.
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The Riverside (Ill.) Brookfield infielder/right-handed pitcher was one of the best high school players in the country this past season. He held a 0.12 ERA and 0.24 WHIP in 58 1/3 innings on the mound. He tossed four no-hitters and two perfect games. He struck out 137 batters, walked four and only allowed 10 hits. At the plate, Murphy hit .548 with 14 doubles, four triples and 18 home runs. He had 75 RBI while walking 34 times and only striking out six times.
It goes without saying new Notre Dame head coach Shawn Stiffler would love Murphy to be a part of the Irish program. Like fellow 2022 MLB Draft prospect Jack Brannigan did for three years, Murphy could contribute in the infield and on the mound for Notre Dame. If he elects to sign a contract and head to the minors, he’d likely be shuffled into one of those two avenues. The Braves reportedly view him more as a pitcher.
Murphy’s selection has a slot value of $3,407,400 per MLB.com. Ideally, players selected with any given pick will see all of their slot money in the form of a bonus. Teams can offer less than the slot value, though, with intent to save some of their total bonus pool for other players they pick in the draft. High school players picked early on might even be offered more than the slot value if the club feels strongly about luring them to the pros instead of watching them go on to college.
Hence, Murphy’s decision. It’ll be dependent upon what the Braves offer him. Being that he was the No. 25 prospect in the country coming out of high school according to Perfect Game and he was drafted No. 20 overall ahead of plenty of talented collegiate prospects, Murphy might have already had his mind made up going in to the draft if he was to get selected early — which is exactly what happened.
Long story short, it could be a long shot for Stiffler to get Murphy to go to school.
