Four Wisconsin players taken in Day 2 of Major League Baseball draft
Four Wisconsinites were taken on Day 2 of the MLB draft Monday, adding to the trend of players from the Badger State being selected in recent years.
Wisconsin Gatorade player of the year and Waterford standout Dylan Questad was selected in the fifth round (No. 150 overall) by the Minnesota Twins. He became the first high school pitcher from Wisconsin to be selected in the first five rounds since 2006, when Tony Butler went in the third round to the Seattle Mariners.
Questad, who led Waterford to a share of the Southern Lakes Conference championship this past season, went 5-1 with a 0.48 ERA and held opponents to a .095 batting average. He struck out 89 in 43⅔ innings.
Questad relies on his fastball, which touched 97 mph earlier in the season, but does have a five-pitch repertoire. The question leading into the draft was whether he'll turn pro if he gets drafted or honor his commitment to play at Arkansas, but Journal Sentinel high school sports reporter Zac Bellman confirmed Tuesday that Questad will forgo his commitment to the Razorbacks and begin his professional career.
Two picks later in the fifth round, the Chicago White Sox made Madison native Christian Oppor their pick. The southpaw is now at Gulf Coast State Junior College in Florida. This is the second time Oppor has been selected in the MLB draft, as the Oakland Athletics took him in the 11th round in 2022 but he did not sign.
The soon to be 19-year-old left-hander, who was the best high school pitching prospect in Wisconsin a year ago, has a lot of rawness on the mound but does have a fastball that sits in the mid-90s that he can put behind hitters. He appeared in 13 games this season including 12 starts, striking out 76 hitters.
White Sox pick @GCSCbaseball LHP Christian Oppor in the 5th, here’s our look from early in the spring. Big arm talent, everything is still quite raw but could be a triple digit lefty reliever. #PGJC pic.twitter.com/hQGVEWXFbL
— Brian Sakowski (@B_Sakowski_PG) July 10, 2023
Slot value for the two picks has been assigned at $412,600 and $404,700, respectively, but players can sign for more or less than that value.
More: Live tracker: Milwaukee Brewers 2023 MLB draft selections
More: Brewers draft pair of high-profile prep infielders on Day 2. Now, can they sign them?
Other Wisconsinites taken in the draft
Sixth round (No. 193 overall), P George Klassan (Philadelphia Phillies), Port Washington
Klassan was considered the top collegiate player with Wisconsin ties in this year’s draft class, thanks to his pitching arm. The 6-foot-2 right-hander, who played for Port Washington, was the Saturday starter for Minnesota this season, making 14 appearances (13 starts) and striking out 49 batters. He held opponents to a .222 average in 53.1 innings.
He is the 11th Gopher pitcher to be drafted since 2017 and the highest-drafted pitcher since Max Meyer went No. 3 overall in 2020 to the Miami Marlins.
Ninth round (No. 283), OF Avery Owusu-Asiedu (Phillies), Waukesha West
The right-handed hitter finished fourth in hitting for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville with a .293 batting average and second in home runs (15), which also tied for sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference.
He set a new SIUE Division I record this season with 24 stolen bases. In addition, Owusu-Asiedu ranks 10th in Division I history with 104 career RBIs and fourth with 30 career steals.
MLB 2023 Draft Update
Avery Owusu-Asiedu (2023 Roster) has been selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 9th round. #MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/KECu4nJH4n— Lakeshore Chinooks (@LS_Chinooks) July 10, 2023
With the Phillies taking Owusu-Asiedu with the 283rd overall pick, the England native is the highest SIUE draft pick since Dave Crouthers was taken in the second round (83rd overall) in the 2001 draft.
More: These Brewers standouts were drafted in the third round or later
Who are some Wisconsinites that could be drafted on Day 3?
Cal Fisher, shortstop/second baseman, Deerfield High School: Ranked as Wisconsin’s top draft prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. He hit .479 this season for the Demons with 45 RBIs, 18 doubles and nine home runs — and he's gotten high scouting grades for his defensive skills.
Kyle Hucksturf, outfield, University of Iowa: The Waterford High School product jumped onto scouts' radars last year when he went 7-for-13 (.538) with three home runs, 12 RBIs and five runs in a two-game span for the Hawkeyes against Indiana. He is also a problem for opponents on the base paths, as he went 15-for-15 in stolen-base attempts this summer for the State College Spikes in the Major League Baseball Draft League.
Riley Frey, left-handed pitcher, UW-Milwaukee: The Oshkosh West alumnus saw an uptick in his fastball this season, sitting low-90s. He was the Panthers' No. 1 starter this season and led the team in starts (15), innings (90) and strikeouts (87). He's pitching in the Cape Cod Baseball League this summer for Orleans, where he has a 3.37 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 10⅔ innings.
Josh Leslie, shortstop, McNeese State: The Kenosha native is rated the No. 44 college shortstop, according to D1Baseball this season. He was named to the Brooks Wallace Award watch list, which honors the top college shortstops. Leslie played at Westosha Central High School and Mesa Community College.
Ben Hampton, left-handed pitcher, Texas Christian: The West De Pere High School grad gained significant attention this season after leading the Cape Cod League last summer with 49 strikeouts in 42⅔ innings for Chatham. Playing for West Virginia, he was named to the all-Big 12 first team this season with an 8-5 record, a 4.66 ERA, 90 strikeouts and 27 walks in 83 innings. He transferred to TCU after the season.
John Leuzzi can be reached at jleuzzi@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnLeuzziMJS.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Four Wisconsin players taken in Day 2 of Major League Baseball draft
