Baseball: Eight TCU players sign contracts with MLB teams

Seven TCU baseball players were selected in the 2023 MLB First-Year Player Draft, and one more Horned Frog signed a deal as an undrafted free agent. The draft completed last week. The Tampa Bay Rays selected first-round pick Brayden Taylor, who is expected to receive a sizable signing bonus worth roughly $3.88 million, after going 19th overall. Cole Fontenelle, a standout player and seventh-round pick, inked a deal with the Los Angeles Angels as well, reportedly receiving a signing bonus of $256,400. On the first day of the draft, Taylor was the only Horned Frog selected; on the second day, which took place from July 9 to July 11, three TCU baseball players were selected, with Fontenelle being the first.

Right-handers Ryan Vanderhei and Cam Brown, drafted in the 10th round, both inked deals with their respective teams. Brown received a reported signing bonus of $154,500 from the Philadelphia Phillies, while Vanderhei signed a deal worth $47,500 from the San Francisco Giants. On the third day of picks, two TCU baseball players were selected: Tre Richardson, selected in the fifteenth round, and Elijah Nunez, selected in the fourteenth round, who agreed to a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Washington Nationals. It is said that both players would get $150,000 in signing bonuses.

Garrett Wright, a 20th-round pick who has signed a deal with the Chicago White Sox and will receive a $150,000 signing bonus similar to Nunez and Richardson, completed the group of TCU draft picks. Following the 2023 MLB Draft, it was reported by several sources that Texas Rangers signed right-hand pitcher Luke Savage to a professional deal, making him the seventh Horned Frog from the 2023 squad to go from college to the major leagues. In 2023, TCU finished with a 44-24 record, winning the Big 12 Conference Championship tournament at Globe Life as well as the NCAA Fayetteville Regional and NCAA Fort Worth Super Regional.