The Maryland baseball MLB Draft roundup

The 2018 MLB Draft finished up Wednesday. When all was said and done, four Maryland baseball players and commits were taken in this year’s draft.

High school recruits Nick Decker and Jack Herman and current players Nick Dunn and Marty Costes were drafted this week. This was the lowest number of current Maryland players selected since the 2010 draft.

All draftees have until July 13 to sign pro contracts. Here’s a quick recap of all four and their futures.

Nick Decker: Boston Red Sox (2nd round, 64th overall)

Maryland’s top recruit, was drafted 64th overall by the Boston Red Sox. His pick value is just over $1 million, so his chances of coming to Maryland, where he would have to stay at least three years, is doubtful. It’s hard to turn down a seven figure contract. Read more about Decker here. —AM

Nick Dunn: St. Louis Cardinals (5th round, 153rd overall)

The junior second baseman led the Terps in virtually every offensive category in 2018, and his name was called by St. Louis on the sexond day of the draft. His “approximate pick value” is $337,000, so it’s almost guaranteed that Dunn will turn professional this year, just like day-two picks Kevin Smith and Brian Shaffer in 2017. A more detailed story about Dunn can be found here. —AK

Marty Costes: Houston Astros (22nd round, 672nd overall)

The junior outfielder was also selected by Houston last year, but in the 25th round. Despite a difficult season, his body of work throughout his career makes him a clear pro prospect.

Costes started off with a bang as a freshman in 2016. His team-high nine home runs along with a .479 slugging percentage resulted in selections to the Big Ten and Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper all-freshman teams. His sophomore campaign was even better. Costes batted .322 and hit 13 home runs while driving in 46 runs. He was named to All-Big Ten First Team. He impressed a number of scouts with his play in the Cape Cod League during the summer of 2017.

Entering 2018, Costes was named by D1Baseball as its preseason Big Ten Player of the Year. Unfortunately, his production dropped dramatically in 2018, with his batting average falling to a career-low .235. However, Costes made a number of incredible plays in the field, as well as gunning down numerous base runners.

Like Dunn, Costes is a junior and has one year of eligibility left. It remains to be seen whether or not he returns to College Park for the 2019 season. —AK

Jack Herman: Pittsburgh Pirates (30th round, 894th overall)

The high school senior outfielder batted .556 this season with 50 hits, 48 runs scored, 41 RBI and a 1.687 OPS, setting the school record for most hits in a career.

Herman is arguably the second-best recruit in Maryland’s recruiting class. While it’s almost certain that Decker is going to sign with the Red Sox, it looks like Herman will probably be staying in College Park for the next three years or so. He was a projected 7th-10th round pick, and it seemed like teams assumed he wouldn’t sign once he slid past that range.

A slot value that could’ve been six figures is now five figures, and he will have a lot of time in college to impress major league scouts and drastically improve his draft stock. Where he got picked isn’t a real indication of his worth as a player, but Herman now has time to grow into his body and develop as a potent hitter and good fielder. —AM