Jaden Woods selected in seventh round of the 2023 MLB Draft
Jaden Woods selected in seventh round of the 2023 MLB Draft
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Georgia baseball pitcher Jaden Woods in the seventh round of the 2023 Major League Baseball draft as the 197th overall pick on Monday afternoon.
Woods, a 6-foot-2, 202-pound left-hander from Warner Robins, posted a 3-3 mark and a 5.77 ERA in 2023. He made 10 starts for the Bulldogs, registering 62 strikeouts with 25 walks in 48.1 innings of work. He served as the Friday night starter during the first half of the season but missed the final five Southeastern Conference series due to bicep tendonitis before returning against No. 16 South Carolina in the SEC Tournament.
Woods tallied an 8-5 career record with four saves and a 5.03 ERA in 52 appearances. He also made 15 starts, amassing 195 strikeouts with 82 walks in 155.2 innings for Georgia. He was named Second Team Freshman All-American by Perfect Game/Rawlings and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team by a vote of league coaches.
The sport management major earned his degree in three years, graduating this past May.
The Houston County (Ga) native was invited to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team summer training camp and participated in the 2023 MLB Draft Combine in Phoenix, Arizona., receiving a rating as the No. 236 overall prospect in this year’s draft.
Woods is the first Bulldogs selection by the Pirates since 2010 when they drafted left-handed pitcher Justin Earls in the 47th round. Earls did not sign and returned to UGA.
In the 2016 draft, the Pirates signed shortstop Nick King as a free agent. The Bulldogs have a string of 50 straight years with at least one player signing a pro contract. Also, the Georgia program has had at least one player drafted going back to 1987.
Teams have until Aug. 1 to sign their draft picks unless that player has exhausted their college eligibility. Those players are free to sign at any time up until one week prior to next year’s draft.
The 2023 MLB Draft began Sunday night and featured the first two rounds plus free agent compensation and competitive balance picks for a total of 70 selections. The draft resumed Monday at 2 p.m. with rounds three through 10. The final day of the draft is Tuesday with rounds 11-20 starting at 2 p.m. The draft is being streamed on MLB.com.
Several Bulldogs still remain on the board undrafted: pitcher Liam Sullivan, catcher Fernando Gonzalez, first/third baseman Parks Harber, and catcher/designated hitter Corey Collins.