MLB Draft: Arizona hurlers Kent, Candiotti, Susac — Salpointe alum McGee, too — picked on Day 2

Two-thirds of the All-Pac-12 starting rotation from Arizona’s double-conference-championship season got big-league phone calls Monday — with Jackson Kent and Clark Candiotti both selected in the fourth round of the 2024 MLB Draft.

But perhaps just as noteworthy for the Wildcats: a pair of relatively high-rated, would-be future UA flamethrowers were not yet selected as of Monday afternoon, making it more and more possible the incoming freshmen will be on coach Chip Hale’s 2025 roster after all.

Kent, taken 108th overall by the Washington Nationals, and Candiotti, who went 135th overall to the San Diego Padres, were joined by UA reliever Anthony “Tonko” Susac, who went 255th overall to the Texas Rangers — the final pick of the eighth round.

After the MLB’s first two draft rounds took place Sunday, rounds three through 10 were Monday, with the 2024 draft wrapping up Tuesday with rounds 11 through 20.

As for the UA’s incoming freshmen not yet picked: commit Mason Russell, a 6-2 lefty out of Casteel High School in Queen Creek, is eighth on MLB.com’s “best remaining” list heading into Tuesday’s rounds. Russell entered the draft ranked 97th overall, but his slippage is most likely to the lack of ability for a team to ensure a signed contract, making his prospects of ending up in college at this point — thus, in Tucson — greater.

Though plenty is to be seen Tuesday, the same sort of possibility could be in line for 6-foot-5 righty Smith Bailey, another in-state product hailing from Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale. Bailey entered the draft as MLB.com’s 227th overall prospect, while the first 10 rounds through Monday have included 300 total selections so far.

If both were to make it to Tucson, Hale is confident “both guys are ... going to pitch in the big leagues.

“We’re just hoping they give us the three years to develop them further,” Hale added, as recently reported by the Star. “Whatever their draft (ranking) is this year, hopefully we can make it even better in three years.”

For the trio of mound contributors to Arizona’s run to a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament berth in 2024, Kent will presumably join the Nationals organization this summer after the 6-foot-3 left-hander spent most of the season as the Wildcats’ Friday night starter. While he finished 3-4 with a 4.08 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 86 innings, Kent went at least five innings and gave up no more than three earned in each of his first 11 starts in 2024.

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In Candiotti’s case, the 6-foot-4 right-hander came into the draft as the 232nd-ranked prospect, yet was taken nearly 100 spots earlier by the Padres. The transfer, who spent one season in Tucson — his fifth college in five years along with Wichita State (2023), Grayson College (2022), Vernon College (2021) and Saint Mary’s (2020) — sparkled in Hale’s rotation mostly via the Saturday-night starter’s position; he posted a 3.39 ERA and 7-4 overall record.

Susac, who could conceivably return to Hale’s squad if a deal doesn’t work out with the Rangers, struggled as a starter for the Wildcats in 2024, but found his footing when moved to a relief role. From April 2 on, Susac, appeared in 15 games, pitching 14⅔ innings and giving up six total runs. In 11 of those 15 appearances, Susac kept opponents scoreless, earning three saves in the process.

“The guy who may have made the biggest strides for himself from midseason on was Tonko,” Hale said recently. “So we’ll see where that goes.”

Kent’s fourth-round selection has a slot value of $676,000 — meaning that’s more or less what he can expect from a signing bonus from the Nationals. Candiotti’s slot value is $520,000 and Susac’s is $202,000.

Other UA or local connections picked through Monday include former Pima Community College and Arizona righty Aiden May, also an All-Pac-12 selection this past season while playing for Pac-12 regular-season runner-up Oregon State. The 6-foot-2 May was taken 70th overall Sunday by the Miami Marlins in what MLB calls a "competitive balance round," sandwiched between the second and third rounds. From Albuquerque, New Mexico, May pitched one season each at Pima and the UA, going 5-3 with a 6.33 ERA in 16 starts as a Wildcat in 2023 before transferring to Oregon State. At OSU, May was a third-team All-American by multiple outlets, finishing the 2024 season with a 7-1 record and 3.05 ERA in 14 appearances.

Josh Randall, picked in the third round, 85th overall, by the Detroit Tigers out of the University of San Diego. The 6-4 righty appeared in 14 relief appearances as a freshman at the UA in 2022, but injury held him to just one appearance as a sophomore in 2023. The Southern California native transferred from Arizona to San Diego prior to the 2024 season. He was 4-2 with a 3.73 ERA in 2024, including getting the victory in 5 innings of work while striking out 10 Wildcats in a 10-8 early-season win over Arizona.

Also drafted Monday: Salpointe Catholic High School alum Cade McGee, a third baseman who played collegiately at Texas Tech. McGee was taken in the ninth round, 261st overall, by the St. Louis Cardinals. McGee hit .282 while clubbing 15 home runs in 56 games for the Red Raiders in 2024.