{"id":230566,"date":"2025-08-07T03:24:23","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T03:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/230566\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T03:24:23","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T03:24:23","slug":"mlb-draft-michael-oliveto-taken-34th-overall-by-tigers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/230566\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB Draft: Michael Oliveto taken 34th overall by Tigers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Though\u00a0\u00a0the panel hosting MLB Network\u2019s 2025 MLB Draft<\/a> coverage\u00a0considered it a surprise pick, it was the most pleasant surprise of Michael Oliveto\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

Oliveto, 18, a\u00a0lefthanded-hitting catcher who recently\u00a0graduated from Hauppauge High School, was selected 34th overall by the Detroit Tigers on Sunday night in the competitive balance A round, becoming the first Long Islander to be selected<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n

Hauppauge coach Josh Gutes was at the Oliveto residence alongside family, friends, teammates and coaches when MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced the\u00a0selection.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you talk about somebody put in work over all these years and seeing it come to fruition, just hearing his name called was incredible and one of the highlights of my coaching career,\u201d Gutes said \u00a0over the phone Sunday.<\/p>\n

When the sweet-swinging\u00a06-3 \u00a0slugger heard his name called, the whole room went crazy.<\/p>\n

\u201cHearing them say, \u2018With the 34th pick, the Detroit Tigers select Michael Oliveto,\u2019 you couldn\u2019t even hear anything after that,\u201d Gutes said. \u201cThe place just erupted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Breaking news out of Hauppauge High School this morning\u2026\u26be\ufe0f\u26be\ufe0f\u26be\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/6gR3wFXJ0L<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Hauppauge Baseball (@HAUPbaseball) July 10, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n

Oliveto\u2019s 17 home runs over the last two years \u2014 nine of which came this year \u2014 led\u00a0Suffolk. As a senior, he drew 30 walks (14 of them intentional)\u00a0 and struck out only six times. He won the Blue Chip Silver Slugger Award<\/a>,\u00a0an honor given by Suffolk\u2019s coaches to the county\u2019s best hitter.<\/p>\n

Oliveto\u00a0came into the draft as MLB.com\u2019s 219th-ranked draft prospect and was projected to go 52nd overall to the Texas Rangers in ESPN\u2019s final mock draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael\u2019s a kid who I would never bet against,\u201d Hauppauge athletic director Dan Butler said. \u201cKnowing the person he is on top of the player he is really just blew people away. Nothing that Michael accomplishes really surprises us anymore. We\u2019re just happy that we\u2019re a minuscule part of his journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oliveto entered Sunday committed to Yale\u00a0but now has a difficult decision to make. He\u00a0could not be reached for comment Sunday night.<\/p>\n

During the third round, Rocky Point\u2019s Cody Miller<\/a> \u2014 a junior at East Tennessee State University \u2014 was drafted 96th overall by Atlanta. The 21-year-old infielder batted .331 with 18 home runs and a 1.052 OPS and stole\u00a027 bases in 30 tries. Through three years at ETSU, Miller is a .330 hitter with a .917 OPS and 56 steals in 62 attempts.<\/p>\n

\"Cody<\/p>\n

Cody Miller of Rocky Point, playing baseball at Eastern Tennessee State. Credit: Brian Miller<\/p>\n

Miller was raised as a fan of the team by his father, Brian Miller, \u00a0and\u00a0intends to sign with Atlanta.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0 awesome,\u201d Miller said over the phone. \u201cI\u2019ve been [an Atlanta] fan my whole life, my dad\u2019s a die-hard [Atlanta]\u00a0fan, so it\u2019s a pretty special moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller\u2019s camp originally expected him to go early on Monday during Day 2\u00a0of the draft,\u00a0somewhere between the fourth and seventh rounds. They had scheduled a draft party for Monday at former Rocky Point teammate Niko Sorice\u2019s house. That get-together is still on, but\u00a0now it has changed from a watch party to a celebration.<\/p>\n

One of his former Rocky Point head coaches, Anthony Anzalone, will be at Monday\u2019s party.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a once-in-a-lifetime player to coach,\u201d Anzalone said. \u201cHe essentially was another coach on the field. If we were ever in a bind and you heard his walk-up song come on, you were like, \u2018OK, we\u2019re good.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s just that guy, and he\u2019s been that way since he was a pesky ninth-grader in varsity, and he\u2019s progressed every year since then. He\u2019s the complete package, and obviously he\u2019s reaping the benefits of it now.\u201d<\/p>\n