CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs today selected eight players in rounds 3-10 of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft, six position players and two pitchers, including six college players and two out of high school. The 2023 Major League Baseball Draft concludes tomorrow with rounds 11-20.

The Cubs began the day by selecting three college players, shortstop Josh Rivera out of the University of Florida in the third round (81st overall), right-handed pitcher Will Sanders out of the University of South Carolina in the fourth round (113th overall) and catcher Michael Carico out of Davidson College (N.C.) in the fifth round (149th overall). Chicago then selected back-to-back players from the high school ranks, Alfonsin Rosario (sixth round, 176th overall) from the P27 Academy in Lexington, S.C. and Yahil Melendez (7th round, 206th overall) out of the B You Academy in Puerto Rico.

Rivera was recommended by area scout Ike Ballou, Sanders and Rosario were recommended by area scout M’Lynn Dease, Carico was recommended by area scout Billy Swoope and Melendez was recommended by area scout Edwards Guzmán.

Rivera, 22, enjoyed his best college season with the University of Florida in 2023, batting .348 (89-for-256) with 10 doubles, one triple, 19 home runs, 72 RBI and 18 stolen bases in 70 games, while helping lead the Gators to an appearance in the College World Series. The right-handed-hitting infielder walked 46 times, compared to 35 strikeouts, contributing to a .445 on-base percentage and a 1.064 OPS. He was named a Second Team All-American by D1Baseball.com, Perfect Game and American Baseball Coaches Association, as well as First Team All-SEC, a Brooks Wallace Award finalist and was selected to the 2023 College World Series All-Tournament Team.

A Sebring, Fla., native, Rivera has batted .290 (211-for-727) with 29 doubles, four triples, 35 home runs and 139 RBI in 204 career games with the Gators. Prior to his time in Gainesville, Rivera attended the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where he was named a First Team Senior Preseason All-American.

Sanders, 21, has gone 17-10 with a 4.08 ERA (93 ER/205.1 IP) in 51 games (36 starts) with South Carolina in three seasons. The righthander has struck out 222 batters in 205.1 IP during his collegiate career, including 77 in 62.2 IP this season. Prior to the 2023 campaign, Sanders was named a Second Team Preseason All-American by Perfect Game, Baseball America and D1Baseball.com.

Born in Atlanta, Ga., Sanders was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2021 after he went 6-3 with a 3.54 ERA (21 ER?53.1 IP) in 22 games (10 starts). The six-foot six-inch, 230-pound Sanders attended Woodward Academy in College Park, Ga., where he was an Under Armour All-American in 2019, while leading the War Eagles to a quarterfinal berth in the 4A state playoffs.

Carico, 20, batted .350 (28-for-80) with six doubles, seven home runs and 18 RBI, but was limited to 21 games with Davidson in 2023. During the 2022 campaign, Carico led the nation with a .559 on-base percentage, while going 80-for-197 (.406) with 21 doubles, one triple, 21 home runs and 57 RBI. Following the season, he was named a Second Team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association, Collegiate Baseball and D1Baseball.com.

Selected in the sixth round, Rosario, the brother of Padres prospect Eguy Rosario, hit nine home runs and recorded 30 RBI in 36 games at the P27 Academy in 2023.

Chicago concluded the second day of the draft by taking three players from college in rounds 8-10: Brett Bateman out of the University of Minnesota (236th overall), Jonathan Long out of Long Beach State University (266th overall) and Luis Martinez-Gomez out of Tempe College (296th overall).