MLB Draft 2023: Dodgers select Jake Gelof in 2nd round
The Dodgers took third baseman Jake Gelof from the University of Virginia with their second-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, at 60th overall and the final pick for Los Angeles on the first day of the draft.
Gelof hit 44 home runs in his last two seasons for Virginia, including hitting .321/.427/.710 with 23 home runs as a junior in 2023, with almost as many walks (48) as strikeouts (50). His 48 career home runs is a school record, and he set Virginia RBI records in each of the last two seasons, driving in 81 runs in 58 games in 2022, then 90 RBI in 65 games this season.
Here’s how Gelof was ranked among draft prospects by various national outlets:
From Gelof’s Baseball America scouting report:
He’s a pull-happy hitter in general, and that’s where most of his in-game power production has gone, though he has more than enough raw power to homer to the opposite field, with a 91 mph average and 107 mph 90th-percentile exit velocity in 2023. Gelof is a power-over-hit offensive profile who will expand the zone and swing-and-miss at a sizable clip.
Gelof’s brother Zack is an A’s prospect now playing second base. Both Gelof brothers were drafted in the second round at 60th overall, Zack in 2021.
Related Dodgers 2023 MLB Draft tracker
The No. 60 pick comes with a recommended slot value of $1,216,700. The Dodgers this year have a total draft bonus pool of roughly $7.27 million.
Gelof is the last of two picks for the Dodgers on the first day of the draft. They also selected Texas high school outfielder Kendall George at 36th overall. The Dodgers will have 10 picks on Monday, which covers rounds 3-10.
Source: True Blue LA
