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The Los Angeles Dodgers selected center fielder DJ Uiagalelei in the 20th round as the 610th player selected in the 2023 MLB Draft. Uiagalelei played at Clemson University but recently transferred to Oregon State at the end of the 2022 season.
Uiagalelei has not played competitive baseball since his high school days. In high school, he was seen as a high pitching prospect, but closed his cleats to focus on soccer.
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DJ Uiagalelei attended many camps and shows when he was in high school. Prep Baseball Report clocked his fastball at 93 mph, which is pretty impressive at the high school level.
His first love is soccer, and it shows. In high school, he was ranked the best quarterback by 247Sports. He will be looking for a fresh start at Oregon State and having a successful season in the packed Pac-12 Conference.
DJ Uiagalelei isn’t the first football player to be drafted and won’t be the last
The Los Angeles Dodgers know this pick is a fairy tale, but it’s worth taking a flyer. DJ Uiagalelei has tremendous arm strength and could turn to baseball if his football career doesn’t turn out as he hopes.
Uiagalelei is not the first college quarterback to be drafted in the MLB draft. It is a common practice that has been done for decades. One of the more recent and notable cases was when the Oakland Athletics drafted Kyler Murray in the 2018 draft. Murray selected the NFL where he was drafted with the #1 pick by the Arizona Cardinals.
Major league front offices will always try to find an edge and find players who aren’t on other teams’ radars. Considering how strong and accurate the arms of football players are, they will always interest baseball teams.
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