Chase Silseth spent two days hoping to hear his name called.
The Los Angeles Angels made sure Tuesday’s wait was a short one.
The Angels took Silseth, the Arizona Wildcats’ right-handed ace, with their 11th-round pick (321st overall) in the third and final day of baseball’s amateur draft. Tuesday’s selections started at 9 a.m.; by 9:30, Silseth — who helped pitch the Wildcats to the College World Series a month ago — was off the board. It was a landmark draft for the Angels, who selected a record 20 pitchers in as many rounds.
Seven Wildcats, one ex-Wildcat and a UA recruit were taken during the three-day, 20-round draft.
Silseth and two other Wildcats were drafted Tuesday: Second baseman Kobe Kato went to the Houston Astros in the 13th round, and right-handed pitcher Austin Smith was an 18th-round choice of the Atlanta Braves. All three players could opt to return to college to play for first-year coach Chip Hale if they’re unable to strike deals with their professional clubs.
While the three-day draft mostly played out as expected for the Wildcats involved, there were a few surprises. Senior pitchers Preston Price and Vince Vannelle went unpicked, as did draft-eligible underclassmen Randy Abshier (pitcher), Mac Bingham (outfielder), Jacob Blas (shortstop), Tony Bullard (third baseman) and Tanner O’Tremba (outfielder).
The same went for two pitchers, right-hander Quinn Flanagan and left-hander Garrett Irvin, who entered the NCAA transfer portal following the departure of coach Jay Johnson to LSU.
Only one of Arizona’s known signees, Las Vegas outfielder Tyler Whitaker, was taken early enough to put his college decision in serious jeopardy. The Astros took Whitaker with their third-round pick on Monday; his pick comes with a recommended slot value of $689,300.
The Angels’ selection stopped a surprising slide for Silseth, who was ranked as the 145th-best prospect in the draft by Baseball America and 157th by MLB.com.
A New Mexico native who attended Tennessee and the College of Southern Nevada before transferring to the UA, Silseth went 8-1 with a 5.55 ERA in 2021; he averaged nearly 10 strikeouts per nine innings.
MLB.com wrote before the draft that Silseth “has an intriguing mix of pitches that could give him a chance to start” in the pros.
Kato was drafted by Houston with the 388th overall pick. Baseball America was high on the Hawaiian-born Kato before the draft, ranking him as the 250th-best available player. In 2021, he hit .350 with 16 doubles and 34 RBIs. The left-handed-hitting Kato also walked more times (43) than he struck out (34), an advanced skill for a college player — and something that’s increasingly prized by pro clubs.
Infielder Kobe Kato hit .350 with a .460 on-base percentage in helping the Wildcats to the College World Series. Tuesday, the Houston Astros selected Kato with their 13th-round pick.
Smith, a Texan who spent the 2017-20 seasons at Southwestern University, went 2-1 with a 5.14 ERA in 18 UA appearances. The righty struck out 24 batters and walked 18.
Four other Wildcats — outfielder Ryan Holgate (Cardinals), first baseman Branden Boissiere (Nationals), outfielder Donta’ Williams (Orioles) and left-handed reliever Gil Luna (White Sox) — were all drafted Monday. Holgate went 70th overall, part of the competitive balance round, while Boissiere was a third-round selection, Williams went in the fourth and Luna, a Casa Grande native, went in the ninth. Former Wildcats infielder Dayton Dooney, now at Central Arizona College, was a sixth-round choice of the Royals.
