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Vance Honeycutt got exactly what he needed, but Wake Forest stole the draft.
The Carolina superstar went No. 22 to the Baltimore Orioles, a first-round selection that could not be better for the Diamond Heel. He goes to a team that for years was the doormat of the American League East and is now a regular contender for the division.
If Honeycutt dropped toward the end of the first round because his strikeout and swing and miss rates are not what the big leagues want, the Orioles have proven they can develop players and give guys with the potential a chance to make the show. And if Vance needs to swing at better pitches and whiff less, the O’s will give him the time.
The rest of the draft’s first day is a melting pot of players from power programs, a few from smaller colleges and a surprising number of bonus babies out of high school. But what is most glaring is that Wake Forest had three of the first 10 chosen.
Wake’s right-handed ace Chase Burns went second overall to the Cincinnati Reds. The Deacs’ pitching pipeline got a big transfer when he left Tennessee, which went on to win the College World Series without him. Burns became the fifth Wake Forest pitcher to go in the first round since 2018 as the highest draft in program history.
The No. 4 selection was Wake first baseman Nick Kurtz, a three-year star who hit .306 with 22 home runs last season while also drawing the most walks of any player in Division 1. At 6-foot-5, 235 pounds, he has already been compared to Anthony Rizzo for his power and eye at the plate and his defense at first. He has a chance to play for the lowly Oakland A’s pretty quickly.
Wake hit the first-round trifecta with the 10th pick, shortstop Seaver King, who like several Tar Heel transfers came from Division II where he starred for Wingate and hit .411 with a 47-game hitting streak before moving to Winston-Salem. In the ACC, he still batted .308 with a career-best 16 homers. He plays a slick short with the speed and arm strength to play all over the infield for the Washington Nationals someday.
Honeycutt, the great football-baseball star from Salisbury, is way too nice of a kid to be called the most polarizing player in the entire draft. He leaves UNC as a highly decorated Diamond Heel, his home run hitting maybe superseded by his potential as a Golden Glove center fielder in Baltimore, an easy drive for his family.
The Orioles system is so deep that the team can take a chance on the boom-or-bust hitter, who some scouts are likening to George Springer for his all-around skill.
Honeycutt will be helped by low expectations of a later first-rounder, which gives him time to prove any naysayers wrong in the long run.
Featured image via Associated Press/LM Otero
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
