The second and final day of the truncated 2020 MLB Draft had a lot of Louisiana flavor in it after day one came and went without a single player from a Louisiana school to be taken by any of the MLB teams.
Cole Henry was the first Tiger to come off the board on Thursday, being taken 55th overall by the defending World Series champion Washington Nationals. The Florence, Alabama native made four starts, going 2-1 with a 1.89 ERA before the college season was shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Henry was a unique case headed into the draft with him being a draft-eligible sophomore, but he mentioned during a conference call that he does in fact intend to sign with his expected value to be $1.31m.
The next Tiger to come off the board was outfielder Daniel Cabrera was taken by the Detroit Tigers with the 62nd overall pick during the Competitive Balance Round B, a few picks after the end of the second round. The Baton Rouge native batted .345 (20-for-58) in the shortened 2020 season with three doubles, two homers, 12 RBI, 14 runs and six stolen bases. He really started to catch fire in the final five games with seven RBIs before the season came to an abrupt halt. His slot’s approximate value is $1.10m.
The lone Cajun to be drafted on Thursday night was shortstop Hayden Cantrelle, who was picked 151st overall by the Milwaukee Brewers. The former Teurlings Rebel led the team with 10 runs, four stolen bases and 12 walks in the shortened season.
Cantrelle is now the fifth Ragin’ Cajun to be chosen in the fifth round of the MLB Draft and the first since Corey Coles in 2003. With Cantrelle’s selection, Louisiana has now produced a draft pick in 39 of the last 40 seasons. Cantrelle is now the seventh Ragin’ Cajun to be selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the MLB Draft.