SCOTTSDALE – On the second day of Major League Baseball’s 2023 First-Year Player Draft, the Colorado Rockies selected eight total players, five pitchers and three position players. All 11 of the Rockies’ picks thus far have come from the collegiate ranks.
Below is a pick-by-pick breakdown of the Rockies’ Monday selections:
With their first pick of Day Two, the Rockies selected RHP Jack Mahoney out of the University of South Carolina … in 17 starts for the Gamecocks in 2023, the 21-year-old went 7-4 with a 4.16 ERA (84.1 IP, 39 ER) and a team-leading 84 strikeouts … earned D1Baseball.com’s SEC Extra’s All-SEC Second Team honors … appeared in 15 games as a position player in 2022 but did not pitch due to injury … earned Perfect Game Freshman All-American Second Team honors in 2021 after going 3-0 with a 1.62 ERA (33.1 IP, 6 ER) through 14 games (five starts) for South Carolina … as a two-way high school player at St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights, Ill., posted a career .315 batting average while going 12-5 with a save and 105 strikeouts in 110.1 innings on the mound.
LHP Isaiah Coupet, 20, was selected with the Rockies’ fourth-round pick, 109th overall … the Flossmoor, Ill. native pitched to a 9-11 record with a 4.61 ERA (132.2 IP, 68 ERA) and 199 strikeouts through 33 games (24 starts) in three seasons for Ohio State … missed time during the 2023 season due to a hamstring injury, but went 4-3 with a 3.55 ERA (50.2 IP, 20 ER), 16 walks and 72 strikeouts in 11 total appearances (10 starts) … was named an OSU Scholar Athlete in 2021, an award given to student athletes with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
With their fifth-round selection, the Rockies drafted INF Kyle Karros, 20, out of UCLA … started 42 games at third base for the Bruins in 2023, posting a .284/.372/.420 slashline with five home runs and 34 RBI … overall, slashed .276/.342/.407 with 101 RBI through 142 games over three seasons with the Bruins … was named to the 2022 Pac-12 All-Defensive team … coming out of Mira Costa (Calif.) High School, was rated the No. 36 overall prospect and the No. 2 third baseman in California … was ranked as the No. 100 national prospect by Prep Baseball Report … father, Eric, played parts of 14 Major League seasons, primarily with the Dodgers, and was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1991 … Eric’s 21 career home runs at Coors Field are tied for the second-most by a visiting player in Coors Field history … older brother, Jared, was selected by the Dodgers in the 16th round of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft, also out of UCLA.
RHP Cade Denton was selected by the Rockies in the sixth round out of Oral Roberts University … the 21-year-old went 3-1 with 15 saves, tied for the most in the country, and a 1.83 ERA (64.0 IP, 13 ER), 15 walks and 86 strikeouts through 35 relief appearances for the Golden Eagles in 2023 … helped lead his team to a College World Series appearance … collected many accolades for his 2023 season including NCBWA Stopper of the Year and First-Team All-American honors from several publications … was named the Stillwater Regional Most Outstanding Player and the Summit League Pitcher of the Year … in 2022, the Rowlett, Texas native posted a 4-0 record with six saves and a 0.82 ERA (43.2 IP, 2 ER) through 24 games.
RHP Seth Halvorsen, 23, goes to the Rockies in the seventh round after previously being selected by the Twins in the 30th round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft and the Phillies in the 19th round in 2021 … in 2023 at Tennessee, pitched to a 3-3 record with a 3.81 ERA (52.0 IP, 22 ER), 16 walks and 52 strikeouts through 25 games (one start) … through three collegiate seasons with Missouri (2019, ‘21) and Tennessee (2023), went 7-5 with a 5.01 ERA (129.1 IP, 72 ER) through 43 games (15 starts) … missed the 2022 season due to injury … named the 2018 Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year and Minnesota’s “Mr. Baseball” in 2018 coming out of Heritage Christian Academy in Maple Grove, Minn.
With their eighth-round pick, the Rockies selected INF Braylen Wimmer out of South Carolina … the 22-year-old slashed .304/.409/.561 in 56 games for the Gamecocks in 2023, adding 11 doubles, one triple, 14 home runs, 42 RBI and a team-leading 13 stolen bases with just one caught stealing … was named to the 2023 All-NCAA Columbia Regional team … through four seasons at South Carolina (2020-23), slashed .291/.358/.495 with 32 home runs and 113 RBI … was a 2019 All-State First Team selection at Yukon, (Okla.) High School … previously selected by Philadelphia in the 18th round of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft.
C Ben McCabe, 23, was selected by the Rockies in the ninth round out of the University of Central Florida … slashed .371/.466/.692 with a 1.158 OPS for the Knights in 2023, adding 15 doubles, 19 home runs and 51 RBI … led the AAC in runs (63), hits (83) and home runs, tied for second in batting and was second in OBP and slugging … his 19 home runs tied for the second-most in a single season in UCF history and his 49 career home runs (2019-23) lead the program … 2023 Collegiate Baseball All-American Second Team selection … was the Sarasota (Fla.) High School Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2018.
Completing the second day of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft, the Rockies selected RHP Jace Kaminska out of the University of Nebraska in the 10th round … the 21-year-old went 7-3 with a 4.13 ERA (72.0 IP, 33 ER), 15 walks and 57 strikeouts through 14 starts for the Cornhuskers in 2023 … spent the 2021-22 seasons at Wichita State, combining to go 11-10 with a 4.10 ERA (140.2 IP, 64 ER) across 27 games (22 starts) … was the 2021 American Athletic Conference Newcomer Pitcher of the Year and a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American … at Caney Valley (Kan.) High School, was twice named the Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year (2019 & 2020) and was a three-time Tri-Valley League MVP.
The 2023 MLB Draft concludes tomorrow with rounds 11-20 beginning at 11 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. MT.
