SCOTTSDALE – On the third and final day of Major League Baseball’s 2023 First-Year Player Draft, the Colorado Rockies selected 10 total players, seven pitchers and three position players, with nine of 10 overall coming from the collegiate ranks.
Overall, the Rockies selected 21 players, including 14 pitchers and seven position players. All but one were selected out of college.
Below is a pick-by-pick breakdown of the Rockies’ Tuesday selections:
With their first pick of Day Three, the Rockies selected RHP Stu Flesland III, 22, out of the University of Washington in the 11th round … the 6-5 Colbert, Wash. native pitched to a 7-2 record with a 4.12 ERA (89.2 IP, 41 ER), 27 walks and 81 strikeouts through 16 starts for the Huskies in 2023 … ranked second in the Pac-12 in both starts and innings pitched, while his ERA was the sixth-lowest in the league … earned 2023 All-Pac-12 Honors … through four collegiate seasons at Washington (2021-23) and Boise State (2020), posted an 11-8 record with a 4.07 ERA (179.1 IP, 81 ER) in 77 games (24 starts) … recorded a 0.19 ERA and was First-Team All-GSL and Second-Team All-State for Mt. Spokane High School (Wash.) in 2019.
In the 12th round, the Rockies selected LHP Bryson Hammer out of Dallas Baptist University … in one season for the Patriots in 2023, was 5-4 with a 5.16 ERA (45.1 IP, 26 ER) and 48 strikeouts in 14 games (eight starts) … in 2022, earned All-Conference honors at Catawba College after going 6-3 with a 3.82 ERA through 15 appearances (13 starts), while fanning 116, the second-most in the region … prior, was a redshirt freshman at Clemson in 2021 … was a two-time First-Team All-State selection at Alexander Central High School (N.C.) … rated the No. 6 left-hander and the No. 20 overall prospect in the state of North Carolina by Perfect Game.
OF Caleb Hobson was selected with the Rockies’ 13th-round pick out of the University of Tennessee-Martin … a native of Pontotoc, Miss., the 21-year-old posted a .318/.429/.500 slashline in 2023 for the Skyhawks, driving in 39 while swiping a league-leading 36 bases … prior to UT-Martin, spent two seasons at Northwest Mississippi Community College, earning a pair of All-Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference accolades … ranked in the top-10 in the school record books in single-season stolen bases (33, 3rd) and runs scored (55, 9th) … is the ninth UT Martin player all-time to be selected in the MLB First-Year Player Draft.
In the 14th round, the Rockies selected RHP Hunter Mann from Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tenn. … in 2023, the 21-year-old struck out 91 through 70.0 innings in 18 games (13 starts) for the Golden Eagles … ranked third in the Ohio Valley Conference with an 11.7 SO/9 (min. 30.0 IP) … spent his 2021-22 seasons at Columbia State Community College … hit .412 while pitching to a 9-0 record and a 0.52 ERA in his senior season at Gordonsville High School in Gordonsville, Tenn.
C Darius Perry was selected out of UCLA with the Rockies’ 15th-round pick, joining teammate Kyle Karros (selected in the fifth round) as Rockies’ 2023 selections … Perry, 22, was originally selected by the Rockies in the 38th round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft but did not sign … for the Bruins in 2023, slashed .278/.386/.358 with 31 RBI as the team’s starting catcher … earned All-Pac-12 All-Conference Team honors in 2022 and 2023 … 2023 Pac-12 All-Defensive Team selection as he threw out 42% (19/45) of attempted basestealers, the only Pac-12 catcher to finish the season above the 40% mark … the Fullerton, Calif. native was rated as the No. 1 catcher in California and the No. 3 catcher in the nation coming out of La Mirada High School (Calif.).
Coming out of East Tennessee State University, the Rockies selected LHP Austin Emener in the 16th round … in 15 games (eight starts) for the Buccaneers in 2023, went 2-4 with a 5.40 ERA (53.1 IP, 32 ER), one save and 62 strikeouts … played three collegiate seasons for North Alabama (2021-22) and East Tennessee (2023), striking out 148 through 130.0 innings … attended First Presbyterian Day School in Macon, Ga. where he set a school record with 18 strikeouts in a single game.
1B Aidan Longwell, 21, goes to the Rockies with their 17th-round selection … the Massillon, Ohio native was named First-Team All-MAC and Third-Team All-American after slashing .409/.482/.657 with 23 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs and 75 RBI for the Golden Flashes in 2023 … his batting average was the highest for a Kent State player since 2001 … led the conference in RBI … also posted a 1.45 ERA in 19.0 innings on the mound … in three seasons at Kent State (2021-23), slashed .346/.424/.551 with 112 RBI through 133 games while going 4-2 with a 3.72 ERA (48.1 IP, 20 ER) in 30 games (four starts) as a pitcher.
In the 18th round, the Rockies selected RHP Yanzel Correra out of the International Baseball Academy High School … the 18-year-old is a native of Caguas, Puerto Rico and checks in at 6-feet-4 inches … ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 8 right-handed pitching prospect in Puerto Rico … he is the first Rockies’ pick out of the high school ranks from this draft.
Colorado Mesa LHP Kannon Handy was selected with the Rockies’ 19th round pick … a graduate of Jordan High School (Utah), the lefty finished the 2023 season with the Mavericks 6-2 with a 5.57 ERA (64.2 IP, 40 ER) and 88 strikeouts … through four collegiate seasons, went 21-4 with a 4.63 ERA (213.2 IP, 110 ER) through 46 games (38 starts) … was an All-RMAC First Team selection in 2022 and was named the RMAC Co-Freshman Pitcher of the Year in 2021.
With their final pick in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft, the Rockies selected 20-year-old RHP Troy Butler from Herkimer County Community College in Herkimer, N.Y. … posted 6-2 record and a 4.84 ERA (44.12 IP, 24 ER) in 11 appearances (one start) at Herkimer, walking 31 and striking out 81 for a 16.32 K/9 … played three seasons with Mohawk Valley in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, totaling a 6-4 record with a 3.08 ERA (64.1 IP, 22 ER) and 90 strikeouts … a native of Binghamton, N.Y.
Below is a breakdown of all the Rockies’ selections in the 2023 MLB First-Year Player Draft:
Rd. Pick First Last Pos. B/T HT WT School Hometown
1 9 Chase Dollander RHP R/R 6-2 200 Tennessee Evans, Georgia
2 46 Sean Sullivan LHP R/L 6-4 190 Wake Forest Andover, Mass.
CB-B 65 Cole Carrigg C S/R 6-3 200 San Diego State Turlock, Calif.
3 77 Jack Mahoney RHP R/R 6-3 210 South Carolina Arlington Heights, Ill.
4 109 Isaiah Coupet LHP L/L 6-1 190 Ohio State Flossmoor, Ill.
5 145 Kyle Karros 3B R/R 6-5 220 UCLA Manhattan Beach, Calif.
6 172 Cade Denton RHP R/R 6-3 180 Oral Roberts Rowlett, Texas
7 202 Seth Halvorsen RHP R/R 6-2 225 Tennessee Maple Grove, Minn.
8 232 Braylen Wimmer SS R/R 6-4 200 South Carolina Yukon, Okla.
9 262 Ben McCabe C R/R 6-0 185 Central Florida Sarasota, Fla.
10 292 Jace Kaminska RHP R/R 6-2 235 Nebraska Caney, Kan.
11 322 Stu Flesland III LHP R/L 6-5 207 Washington Colbert, Wash.
12 352 Bryson Hammer LHP L/L 6-1 186 Dallas Baptist Stony Point, N.C.
13 382 Caleb Hobson OF R/R 6-1 193 Tennessee-Martin Pontotoc, Miss.
14 412 Hunter Mann RHP R/R 6-7 225 Tennessee Tech Brush Creek, Tenn.
15 442 Darius Perry C R/R 6-2 210 UCLA Fullerton, Calif.
16 472 Austin Emener LHP L/L 6-4 210 East Tennessee State Macon, Ga.
17 502 Aidan Longwell 1B L/L 6-1 205 Kent State Massillion, Ohio
18 532 Yanzel Correa RHP S/R 6-4 210 International Baseball Academy Caguas, P.R.
19 562 Kannon Handy LHP L/L 6-3 220 Colorado Mesa Herriman, Utah.
20 592 Troy Butler RHP R/R 6-2 195 Herkimer County CC Amsterdam, N.Y.