FSU baseball: Seven Noles selected in 2021 MLB Draft

FSU baseball didn’t have the year they wanted as they failed to reach the College World Series. Mike Martin Jr. went 31-24 in his first full season at the helm.

The team was up and down all season, carried largely by a starting pitching staff of freshmen and some veterans in the bullpen.

The offense was inconsistent, aside from a couple of consistent offensive bats. Matheu Nelson, Robbie Martin, and Elijah Cabell accounted for 61 percent of the team home runs and 50.8 percent of the team RBI’s.

That sentiment was reflective of the seven players selected in the 2021 MLB Draft. The Noles saw seven of their players get their names called, with four pitchers selected and three position players.

It was the most FSU baseball players selected since 1995. The pitchers selected were important pieces for Mike Martin Jr.

Jack Anderson was solid when called upon and one of the most consistent pitchers on the team. Conor Grady was the steady veteran on Sundays for the Noles. Hunter Perdue and Tyler Ahern saw action out of the bullpen.

The only player that will surely sign an MLB contract is Matheu Nelson, and it’ll be interesting to see what the other players decide to do. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Robbie Martin sign a deal. He could improve on his 2021 stats, but it would be a risky move if he didn’t have a better year in 2022.

Not to mention age could be a factor as he’s already spent three years in college. Hunter Perdue could sign as his slot value is about $145,000 and he has one year of eligibility left. Perdue could improve his draft stock even more with a better 2022 season

Elijah Cabell has two years of eligibility left and could probably improve his stock after the beginning of the year playing with an injury. He seemed to get better as the year wore on and a big power year would see his stock greatly improve.

Conor Grady has another year of eligibility remaining, but I’m not sure how much he could improve his stock. Tyler Ahearn has one year of eligibilty remaining and could improve his stock, especially his strikeout to walk ratio.

It’s good to see so many FSU baseball players get this recognition and hopefully this talent can begin to translate into more wins.