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In one year, Luke Young went from a pitcher with potential at Midland College to an 11th round draft pick in the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft.Young, a 6-foot-3 right-hander from Wall, was drafted 321st overall by the Washington Nationals on the last day of the draft on Tuesday.He became Midland College’s highest draft pick since outfielder Chad Stang was taken in the eighth round by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2009.During his last season with the Chaparrals, Young was the ace of the staff and went 9-4 with a 3.95 ERA. He also finished with 110 strikeouts in 79 2/3 innings pitched as he helped lead MC to a 40-20 record and a NJCAA Region V Tournament championship appearance.As of Tuesday afternoon, it was uncertain if Young would sign with the Nationals or keep his commitment with Oklahoma State University this upcoming year. Because of the extra year of eligibility due to COVID, Young has three years left to play in college if he wants.Young has until Aug. 1 to sign with the Nationals.Scouts were on hand for a lot of his games and MC head coach Hector Rodriguez said they liked his projectability at the professional level, his spin rate on rise ball pitches and his ability throw consistently in the mid to upper 90s.“You could see the potential out of high school,” Rodriguez said. “He’s one who took advantage of the opportunity he had in junior college and he was able to put his head down and work on his strength and conditioning. That strength and conditioning propelled him on the mound by gaining velocity and maintaining that velocity.”Young also made huge strides from his first year at MC when he went 6-1 with a 7.80 ERA to last year when he was named as a Western Junior College Athletic Conference honorable mention selection and was named WJCAC Pitcher of the Week three times.“He went and pitched in the Northwoods League last summer and you could see the maturity after a full freshman season and a full summer,” Rodriguez said. “He was able to lead our pitching staff and he was a big part of our success and led us to the Region V championship game. He toughened up and matured over that year.“He’s going to be ready to go on, whether he chooses to pitch at the professional level or if he decides he wants to pitch at the Division I level at Oklahoma State.”
Currently in his first year at Fredricksburg and pitching well. In his last 3 starts (15 IP): 3.60 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 18Ks, 7BBsFor the season: 73.2 IP, 4.40 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 78Ks, 30BBs
Young signed out of Midland JC (TX) for $250,000 as the Nats’ 2022 11th rounder. He has a riding low-to-mid-90s fastball and a delivery that points to the bullpen.
He was mentioned in Fangraphs' write-up of the Nationals' farm system under their "Other Prospects of Note" section:https://blogs.fangraphs.com/washington-nationals-top-31-prospects-2023/
