One of the hard parts about recruiting in college baseball is when a team gets a top-tier player to commit, but they never make it to campus because of where they get drafted by the MLB.
The Florida Gators have been no stranger to this over the years, and on Sunday, they experienced it again as commits Jordan Yost and Aaron Watson were both drafted on Day 1 of the MLB Draft.
Jordan Yost and Aaron Watson were drafted by the MLB
Yost is the younger brother of the current Gator Hayden Yost. Jordan Yost was selected No. 24 overall by the Detroit Tigers. This was a bit of a surprise considering that Yost was ranked No. 50 by MLB.com, but signability, along with a strong senior campaign with Sickles High in Tampa, boosted his stock into the first round.
The recommended salary slot from MLB for the No. 24 pick is $3,726,300, though teams are able to pay more or less. There had been hope that if Yost fell closer to his No. 50 projection or even fell out of the 2nd round, that Florida would be able to convince him to come to campus, but it will be closer to impossible to land him now unless negotiations with the Tigers completely fall apart.
Watson recently flipped from Virginia to Florida, but it looks like he, too, won't be making it to campus. The pitcher from Jacksonville was drafted No. 51 by the Cincinnati Reds, which carries a slot value of $1.89 million.
Listed at 6'5", Watson has a fastball that can get up to 95 MPH with a slider and changeup to mix in.
This past season with Trinity Christian Academy, he went 9-0 with an ERA of 0.53.
No current members of the Gators were drafted on Day 1, which was rounds 1-3. Round 4-20 will take place on Monday, with Colby Shelton expected to be the first Gator off the board.