Yohandy Morales, a star at Miami and Braddock, slips Nationals in Round 2 of MLB draft
Yohandy Morales was one of the Miami Hurricanes’ most prolific power hitters, a home-grown star and perennial fixture on the All-Atlantic Coast Conference teams, and now he can add top-40 pick to his long list of accomplishments.
The third baseman is headed to the Washington Nationals with the top pick of the second round — No. 40 overall — of the 2023 MLB draft Sunday at Lumen Field in Seattle. Although he was widely expected to be a first-round pick, Morales wound up sliding out of the top 30, but still winds up being Miami’s highest pick since relief pitcher Slade Cecconi went in Competitive Balance Round A of the 2020 MLB draft.
After Morales’ slide, the Hurricanes still haven’t had a player go in Round 1 since catcher Zack Collins, now in the Guardians organization, went to the White Sox at No. 10 in the 2016 MLB draft.
Morales finished his time in Coral Gables with 49 home runs — the fourth most in school history — and saved some of his best performances for the NCAA tournament. In 2022, he became only the third Hurricane to belt three home runs in a game when he homered thrice in Miami’s postseason-opening win against Canisius at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.
Morales, 21, has one season of eligibility remaining, but will almost certainly sign a contract with the Nationals after going on Day 1. As a junior, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound infielder batted .408 with a .475 on-base percentage, .713 slugging percentage, 13 double, 20 home runs, 70 RBIs, 58 runs and seven stolen bases.
Before he got to Miami, Morales was a local star at Braddock, although he wasn’t picked in the 2020 draft, which was shortened to five rounds because of the COVID-19 pandemic, largely because of his commitment to the Hurricanes. The corner infielder immediately became a one of Miami’s best players, earning first-team freshman All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper in 2021, getting selected for USA Baseball’s collegiate national team in 2022 and finally receiving second-team All-American recognition from PerfectGame.org in 2023.
