There’s always an MLB Draft taking place beneath the MLB Draft -- a behind-the-scenes series of last-second phone calls and offers and life-altering decisions.
Oregon slugging first baseman Jacob Walsh knows a bit about that. Coming out of high school in the Las Vegas area in 2021, he was a consensus top-300 prep player in the country and top-five first baseman by Perfect Game and Prep Baseball Report. He had committed to Oregon but could not shake the excitement over the possibility of beginning his pro career.
So when an Atlanta Braves scout called him during the third round and further enticed him with mention that the organization had a potentially fast path to first base, it was a lot to take in. But Walsh and his representative had a figure in mind, the Braves didn’t meet it and, in an instant, Walsh had to wave goodbye to an opportunity he could not be entirely sure would come again.
“It was awesome, getting the opportunity, getting the call,” he said at the MLB Draft Combine. “But I'm glad I went to school.”
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So are the Ducks. Walsh wound up staying all four seasons of his collegiate eligibility and set a school record with 59 career homers. He proved himself an agile first baseman with leadership skills, and he slashed an impressive .332/.435/.651 with 19 blasts and 17 doubles in his senior year.
He hopes to parlay that into a better professional opportunity than the one he turned down after high school.
“I had another opportunity last year to go [in the Draft], but I kind of bet on myself again,” he said. “I knew I could do more. I wasn't finished yet at Oregon, and I wanted to go back for my fourth year, and I had a great year, and we won a bunch of games and I had a ton of fun. I knew I had more to do.”
Back in high school, Walsh was primarily a pitcher. He participated several years in the Breakthrough Series, a diversity-focused effort of USA Baseball and MLB that develops players on and off the field through seminars, mentorship, evaluations and instruction, cost-free.
“It's such a blessing,” Walsh said. “You don't really understand it when you're going through it, but, looking back on it, all the coaching experience, all the greats that coached us, all the awesome players that I got to play with who are now in professional baseball, it was great.”
The development continued at Oregon, where, under head coach Mark Wasikowski and hitting coach Jack Marder, Walsh made the full-time switch to playing a position and grew into his power.
Now he feels far more prepared to go pro.
“I think I've gotten light years better since high school,” he said.