Florida State baseball MLB Draft tracker: Brett Roberts taken in 16th round by Marlins

The MLB Draft is here.

When it comes to Florida State, that means we'll be monitoring a few former Seminoles as well as a few FSU freshman signees over the next few days.

This will be the second straight year that the draft is 20 rounds. The first and second rounds will be broadcast on MLB Network, starting Sunday at 7 p.m. Monday will bring rounds three through 10 and will start at 2 p.m. The final 10 rounds will begin Tuesday at 2 p.m.

The biggest things to watch for FSU right off the bat are when its two standout pitchers are selected. Parker Messick (No. 54 in MLB's prospect rankings) and Bryce Hubbart (No. 72) should both hear their names called either Sunday or somewhat early in Monday's portion of the draft.

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Additionally, there are a few recently enrolled freshmen who could be considering signing with a team out of high school and forgoing collegiate careers.

Cam Smith, an infielder from Palm Beach Central, and Jordan Taylor, an outfielder from Jacksonville St. John's Country Day School, are the two most prominent players to watch in this regard.

Smith ranks 55th in Perfect Game's 2022 high-school class rankings, while Taylor ranks 57th. It's been reported that both players have fairly high asking prices to sign out of high school, but it only takes one team liking them enough as prospects to meet that number.

Keeping at least one of these two on campus would be a big win for Link Jarrett and his new FSU coaching staff. We'll likely know within the first few rounds if either Smith or Taylor will remain at FSU.

Second baseman Brett Roberts is the other Seminole most likely to be drafted after Messick and Hubbart. He hit .300 in his lone season with the Seminoles after impressing in the Cape Cod League last summer and projects as a potential day-two or day-three pick in the later rounds.

Brett Roberts becomes third FSU player off the board

After 13 rounds since the last pick, another former FSU player is off the board in the MLB Draft.

Second baseman Brett Roberts was taken in the 16th round by the Miami Marlins Tuesday afternoon with the 472nd overall pick.

Roberts didn't entirely live up to his transfer hype in his one season with the Seminoles. After hitting over .340 the prior season at Tennessee Tech, Roberts hit .300 this past season for FSU.

He did so behind a very strong finish to the season and there's reason to believe his hit tool will improve at the professional level. He also showed some pop, hitting five home runs for the Seminoles this season.

One major signee pulls name from draft

Before the final day of the draft, FSU's top freshman signee confirmed what was already believed to be true and announcing he'll remain at FSU.

Infielder Cameron Smith, who ranks 55th in Perfect Game's 2022 high-school class rankings and was a top-100 draft prospect per MLB.com, announced Tuesday morning that he's pulling his name out of the draft.

"One Tribe let’s ride!" Smith tweeted with an accompanying FSU emoji.

Outfielder Jordan Taylor hasn't yet made it known he's staying at FSU. However, the fact that he's not yet been taken through more than 300 picks despite the fact that he was a top-100 prospect seems to indicate that he's also going to stay at FSU and play for the Seminoles.

Hubbart the lone FSU player/signee taken on second day of the draft

With the No. 94 overall pick, the Cincinnati Reds selected FSU left-handed pitcher Bryce Hubbart in the third round Monday. 

Hubbart served as the Saturday starter for the Seminoles in the last two seasons.

The Windermere  High product claimed third-team All-ACC honors in 2021 and second-team recognition from the conference last season. 

As a redshirt sophomore this past season, Hubbart went 8-3 with a 3.32 ERA across 15 starts.

He also posted career-highs in innings pitched (76) and strikeouts (96).

The good news for the Seminoles is that he was the only player associated with FSU who was taken on the second day of the draft, which encompassed rounds three through 10.

FSU's top two signees, infielder Cameron Smith and outfielder Jordan Taylor, remain undrafted. Considering both were seen as top-100 prospects and haven't yet been taken in 316 picks, it indicates teams likely viewed them as unsignable or didn't think they were worth the signing numbers that the players were requesting.

Either way, it's very likely a major win for Link Jarrett and the Seminoles as they are highly unlikely to sign at this point even if they are drafted in the final 10 rounds on Tuesday.

This means FSU likely has Smith to serve as its starting third baseman next season and Taylor to start in center field.

The main former Seminole to monitor entering the final day of the draft is Brett Roberts. He hasn't yet been taken through two days and could be incentivized to return for another season if he isn't taken early enough on Tuesday, which encompasses rounds 11 through 20.

It's also possible Roberts is ready to begin his professional career and will sign regardless of what the slot value for his selection will be.

Only one FSU player/signee selected in first two rounds

The opening day of this year's MLB Draft couldn't have gone much better for the Seminoles.

FSU pitcher Parker Messick got to represent the Seminoles as the 54th overall pick to the Cleveland Guardians. It's the third straight year that FSU had a player taken in the first two rounds.

The slot value for that pick is $1,406,400.

While that pick represented FSU well on the big stage, the even better news for FSU from Sunday's first two rounds is that the Seminoles' top two high-school signees, infielder Cameron Smith and outfielder Jordan Taylor, both were not drafted.

Just because they didn't go in the first two rounds doesn't necessarily mean yet that they will definitely play for FSU. However, the longer they go undrafted Monday, the more teams would have to overpay relative to slot value to match their reported lofty numbers.

Additionally, FSU should have a second alum taken early Monday. Starting pitcher Bryce Hubbart is one of the highest-rated remaining prospects entering day two of the draft.

The second day begins Monday at 2 p.m. and will see rounds three through 10 held with a broadcast of the draft available on MLB.com.

Messick is the first Seminole off the board

As expected, Parker Messick was the first FSU alum off the board in this year's MLB Draft.

The Plant City native and 2021 ACC Pitcher and Freshman of the Year was taken with the 54th overall pick in the second round by the Cleveland Guardians. 

It's the third straight year that FSU has had a player taken in the top two rounds of the draft.

Messick may not have top-end velocity or have a ceiling as an MLB ace.

However, his floor is exceptionally high and he could move quickly through the Guardians' farm system. His changeup is viewed as one of the best of any pitcher in this year's draft class.

He was a strikeout machine for the Seminoles, racking up 289 strikeouts over 200.1 career innings. His 13.0 strikeouts per nine innings are the second-most in program history behind only Mac Scarce (14.2).

Reach Curt Weiler at cweiler@tallahassee.com or follow him on Twitter @CurtMWeiler.

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