THREE IOWA BASEBALL PLAYERS SELECTED IN THE 2016 MLB DRAFT

It took until the third day of the 2016 MLB Draft, but three Iowa players heard their names called by big league teams.

Joel Booker was the first to go, getting selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 22nd round.

Nick Roscetti was the next to go, going in the 26th round to the MIlwaukee Brewers.

Tyler Peyton was the third and final Hawkeye to get drafted, going to the Chicago Cubs in the 29th round.

Obviously, all three guys are a long, long, long way from making it to the primetime stage of the big leagues. Given how late they were drafted, they likely won’t be receiving a lot of guaranteed money. But they’re in a major league organization — they’ve got a shot to make it. Hopefully they can make the most of it. Best of luck to all three former Hawkeyes as they begin their professional careers.

As I noted in my MLB Draft preview on Thursday, the big question mark for Iowa in the draft concerned the status of junior Mason McCoy. If he was drafted and received an offer that met the signing bonus number he was looking to get, he was going to say goodbye to his college days. If he did not get drafted or receive an offer that met the number he was looking for, he was going to be back. Good news for Iowa: McCoy was not drafted and will be back in Iowa City next spring. McCoy had a few dry spells in his first season at Iowa, but overall he hit .291 with 12 doubles. Joel Booker was a former JUCO recruit who absolutely exploded as a senior at Iowa; it would be very, very nice if the same could happen for McCoy next year.

One other Iowa-related player of note was selected in the MLB Draft: NIACC standout Malique Ziegler, who was taken in the 22nd round.

Ziegler, who has committed to joining Iowa in 2017, was named a first-team JUCO All-American last year. He utterly demolished the ball last year at NIACC:

.395, 98 hits, 22 HR, 16 doubles, 70 RBI

He's also a well-regarded defensive center fielder and speedy on the bases — he stole 31 bases last season. Obviously the question remains whether or not he can can translate that JUCO dominance into Big Ten excellence, but with talent like he seems to possess, it sure would be fun to see him try.

We’ll have to wait and see what sort of offer Ziegler receives and what he opts to do upon receiving that information. Iowa could certainly use a player with Ziegler’s impressive skills in the lineup next year, though.

Finally, Booker, Roscetti, and Peyton getting drafted continued the great run for #Hellerball in the MLB Draft in recent years: