South Carolina baseball had a great showing in the 2023 MLB Draft as six Gamecocks from last year’s roster were selected, one incoming transfer to the program was taken, and two high school signees were picked.
Gamecock pitchers Jack Mahoney (3rd round, Colorado Rockies), Will Sanders (4th round, Chicago Cubs), Noah Hall (7th round, New York Mets), James Hicks (13th round, Houston Astros), and Cade Austin (19th round, New York Yankees) were all taken, and incoming transfer pitcher Matt Duffy likely will not make it to school either as a 4th round pick by the Boston Red Sox.
Shortstop Braylen Wimmer went in the 8th round to the Colorado Rockies, and incoming freshmen position players George Wolkow (7th round, Chicago White Sox) and Raudi Rodriguez (19th round, Los Angeles Angels) were also taken.
Wolkow is one of the most powerful offensive players in the draft and has been compared to Aaron Judge because of that power and his massive size (6’7″, 240 pounds).
Wolkow was expected to make it to Columbia to suit up for the Gamecocks unless taken high in the draft, but when the hometown White Sox came calling and offered him a contract worth substantially higher dollar amount than most 7th round picks, it was too much to pass up.
On Tuesday, the figures for Wolkow’s contract came out, and the big-swinging lefty got PAID.
Wolkow signed a contract for $1 Million despite the expected value for his slot typically being less than $250,000.
Wolkow likely will be walking into a White Sox organization that will be rebuilding. That means that he could have a quicker path through the Minor Leagues, and with his prodigious power, the former South Carolina baseball commitment almost assuredly will make some noise in the Bigs.
Several of the other Gamecock draftees have signed their professional contracts. In addition to Wolkow, Jack Mahoney, James Hicks, Noah Hall, and Braylen Wimmer have all signed their deals, and the rest of the South Carolina baseball draftees are expected to sign theirs in the near future. Wolkow’s is the biggest contract signed so far by the Gamecocks selected in this year’s draft.