Clemson prospect Sammy Stafura picked in MLB draft |
Mohegan Lake, New York shortstop prospect Samuel Stafura was selected by the Cincinnati Reds with the 43rd overall pick Sunday evening in the MLB draft.
He was rated the No. 10 shortstop in the draft by MLB.com. Stafura had a majority of projections before the draft sending him to the Yankees in the first round, but at pick No. 43, the slot value is $1,998,200. Teams can also use bonus pool money for players they want to pay over-slot. He committed to Clemson while Monte Lee was the Tigers' head coach in July 2021. He was named the New York Gatorade player of the year in baseball. MLB.com had him rated as the No. 32 overall prospect going into the draft: There have been some recent Draft success stories among high school shortstops from the Northeast, most notably the Yankees’ Anthony Volpe, a first-round pick out of New Jersey in 2021, and most recently, Cole Young, taken out of Pennsylvania in the first round by the Mariners last year. That certainly hasn’t hurt Stafura, who hails from New York State and shook off a so-so summer to perform very well this spring and put a big up arrow next to his name. A right-handed-hitting middle infielder, Stafura has gained strength since the summer and that has shown up in his performance. He can drive the ball to all fields, with the ability to hit it hard the other way at times, but it’s strength over bat speed with a bit of a stiff swing, leading some to see him more as a power-over-hit type. Stafura is an excellent athlete and plus runner, one who even played some center field over the summer. But there’s a stronger belief he can stick at shortstop long term, another reason for his helium, with good actions and enough arm for the premium position. It was a little tough to evaluate him this spring because the league he plays in isn’t super-competitive, but there were teams thinking about the Clemson recruit late in the first round as the Draft approached. Oh. My. God. Sam Stafura blasts a 2 run walk off home run. Panas defeats John Jay-CR 4-3 in the Section 1 Class A Baseball Winners Bracket final. Unbelievable moment for @panas_baseball @PanasSports on @locallivenet @SamuelStafura pic.twitter.com/N95V9vmnI0
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