San Francisco Giants select Notre Dame pitcher John Michael Bertrand in 10th round of MLB Draft
John Michael Bertrand had to wait all day. But the wait was undoubtedly worth it. The Notre Dame ace is on his way to one of the most storied baseball organizations of all time.
The San Francisco Giants selected Bertrand with the No. 316 overall pick in the 10th round of the 2022 MLB Draft. The selection was the very last on a day in which rounds three through 10 were conducted in just over three hours. Bertrand will team up with fellow Notre Dame pitcher Liam Simon, who the Giants selected with the No. 166 overall pick in the fifth round a couple hours prior.
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Bertrand was by far Notre Dame’s best starting pitcher in 2022. He went 10-3 with a 2.81 ERA in 18 starts. He struck out 111 batters and walked 21 in 109 innings. He was a mainstay on Fridays for the Irish and helped guide the program to the College World Series for the first time in 20 years and the third time ever. He won his only CWS start by allowing three earned runs on six hits and one walk in 5 1/3 innings.
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Bertrand’s stellar season earned him First Team All-ACC honors in addition to a slew of national accolades, including Second Team All-America selections from D1Baseball, Baseball America and NCBWA. He was a Third Team All-America honoree from ABCA/Rawlings and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
The Statesboro Regional MVP leaves South Bend after two seasons with the Irish. He transferred to Notre Dame after four seasons at Furman, where he was once cut from the team. He worked his way back onto the roster and made himself a household name in college baseball at Notre Dame. His brother, JD, was the leading tackler for the Notre Dame football team in 2021.
The Giants are taking a chance on Bertrand, 24, given he was a sixth-year graduate senior. He prides himself on command and has a three- to four-pitch mix, but he’s late in the game to try to go through the rigors of getting through the minor leagues en route to the majors. Stranger things have happened, though, and former Notre Dame coach Link Jarrett said there is nobody who works harder at his craft than Bertrand.
