The MLB Draft continued along Monday, and another couple North Carolina Tar Heels came off the board. The first of which came in the sixth round, when the Tampa Bay Rays took pitcher Aidan Haugh.
A junior college addition ahead of the 2024 season, this past year Haugh posted a 3.72 ERA in 17 appearances, 14 of which were starts. The senior was dominant through early April, with a 1.86 ERA through his first nine games of 2025. He fell off a bit down the stretch, but help the Tar Heels advance to super regionals this year.
Haugh was also draft eligible last year, and was taken in the 16th round by the Minnesota Twins. Even despite his struggles down the stretch, he managed to improve his draft spot by 10 rounds over the course of this year. While as a “senior sign” as they’re called in the MLB Draft, Haugh doesn’t have the ability to command as much as a signing bonus as a high schooler or underclassman, that’s still an improvement of over $300,000 in approximate signing bonus value in terms of the spot he was picked at.
Having gone 177th overall, Haugh also improved on some projections, as he was slotted as the 335th best player in the draft, at least according to Perfect Game. Having issued 33 walks in 75 innings this year, and 27 walks in 54 innings in 2024, Haugh will have to better his command if he wants to advance through the minors and get to the big leagues. However, with 146 strikeouts over his UNC career and a 6-6 frame, it certainly makes sense why a team thinks they can mold Haugh into a MLB caliber pitcher.
As a fan of a rival team in the Rays’ division, if he turns into an ace, I’d prefer he do it elsewhere, but best of luck to Haugh at the next level.