With the 2023 MLB Draft starting on Sunday night, there are many ways that this season's draft can affect Texas Tech's 2024 baseball roster.

Last year the Red Raiders had five draft picks off the 2022 roster in Jace Jung (12th overall), Andrew Morris (114th overall), Brandon Birdsell (143rd overall), Chase Hampton (190th overall) and Austin Becker (476th overall).

On the recruiting side of things, the Red Raiders were lucky to get studs like Travis Sanders and Zane Petty onto campus after they were drafted, only losing RHP Nolan Perry to the Blue Jays.

This season it is a bit different, as the incoming recruiting class is a bit more likely to get taken from while the returning roster does not have many highly sought after guys in the draft.

While everyone from this list from the 2023 roster, there are quite a few who have already ruled out their return to Texas Tech in 2024.

Andrew Devine, Dillon Carter, Dax Dathe and Brendan Girton have already entered the transfer portal or landed at a new school in the process, such as Girton finding a place at Oklahoma.

Of these who have entered the transfer portal, Girton is the only one who has garnered much buzz in MLB Draft circles, as he is ranked 273rd by MLB.com. He participated in the MLB Draft Combine in June and one would wonder if he would use his leverage to sign as a draft eligible junior if he has the chance.

Similarly, the seniors who are out of eligibility are not garnering much draft buzz at this point in time.

Now, for the juniors who are draft eligible, there are a select couple for the Red Raiders that I would be willing to bet hear their name called at some point throughout the 20-rounds next week.

Green had an excellent season in 2023 after making the jump from Weatherford College and flashed some excellent power from both sides of the plate.

The 250th ranked prospect in the draft, Green carried a .290 average and .960 OPS in his junior year with the Red Raiders.

MLB.com Scouting Report: Green was a prolific run producer for the Red Raiders in 2023 featuring sky-high numbers on his baseball card, buoyed by top-of-the-class contact rates and an all-fields approach. Green is squarely average when it comes to impacting the baseball, instead creating production by whaling balls into the gap and letting his speed flex its muscle a bit. A switch-hitter, Green has a shot to hit from both sides at the next level. He's also athletic enough to stick at second base or function as a utility man at the next level.

Beckel's case for the MLB Draft is his stuff on the mound. An electric year for the junior where he carried a 2.23 ERA as one of the Red Raiders only really reliable relievers.

It's a 95 mph fastball paired with a sharp breaking ball that was just shy of a 50-percent whiff rate on the season.

Beckel hasn't gotten much draft buzz, but if he is selected in the later rounds, I bet he takes the opportunity to use some leverage and signs in the end.

Here is where things could get picked over as the Red Raiders have quite a few recruits that are committed garnering major MLB Draft buzz as we've gotten closer.

Mac Heuer, Myles Naylor, TJ Pompey, Landon Stripling and Gavyn Jones all have had major buzz throughout their senior season.

The power right-hander out of Georgia and the highest ranked recruit in the class is almost certainly going to get looks early as the 199th ranked player in the draft class.

Heuer may slip out of the range where he would like to be drafted but it will all depend on what kind of deal he can strike.

MLB.com Scouting Report: Mac Heuer has performed against high levels of competition this summer, with a 91-95 MPH four seam fastball that touches 96 and a sharp 78-82 MPH downer curveball overwhelming hitters in 2022. Heuer's thick body and stiffness in mechanics suggest a reliever track, but he has been able to throw strikes with consistency throughout the showcase circuit. Further development of a firm changeup or finding a high velocity slider would help boost his starting chances.

Naylor, like his two brothers before him, is extremely unlikely to get to Lubbock. He is the 85th ranked player in the draft and will get another look based on his last name alone.

MLB.com Scouting Report: The next Naylor in a long line of big league Naylors (Josh, Bo), Miles is cut from a similar cloth with big bat speed and impact potential at the plate. He's largely pull-side focused right now, but Naylor has a mature approach to his game that should allow the hit tool to buoy as he matures into more competitive ball. Defensively, Naylor may move off the shortstop position to second or third base where his fringy throwing arm and fringy speed play better.

Jones is one that has skyrocketed since his commitment to Tech last summer, going from a fringe top-500 player to now one of the top pitching prospects in the upcoming draft.

It seems his emphasis on hitting dwindled and his fastball is now sitting in the mid-90s from the left side, so we will see what happens with the No. 155 player in the draft this weekend.

MLB.com Scouting Report: Gavyn Jones saw a big jump both in stuff and draft projection this spring, and scouts believe it's only the beginning for the loose, live-armed Texan. He'll grab 95 with considerable life late in the zone, mixing in two distinct breaking balls along the way. The first is a shorter slider that comes off the fastball tunnel late thrown in the low-80s. His second weapon is a upper-70s downer curveball with considerably more depth and life. Given Jones' handedness, present stuff and projection to throw harder, he's a good bet to get popped early on day two.

When we talked with Stripling earlier in the summer, it sounded like he was optimistic about his chances to make it to Tech. It will be interesting where he is selected since he has one of the sweetest swings from the left side in the HS class and is the No. 244 player in the draft.

MLB.com Scouting Report: Stripling popped onto the scene late in 2022 with solid tournament performances and a knack for the moment. A scrappy second baseman, Stripling shoots the ball line to line with solid plane, keeping his barrel through the zone a long time. He has some thump, but will likely never be a true power hitter, instead getting into the occasional hanging breaking ball to his pull-side. Stripling is a below average runner with a below average throwing arm, so first or second base are likely his ultimate designation on the dirt. He'll have to hit to keep his prospect status high, but he's done that and then some during his high school career.

Pompey's case is weird since his stock seems to have dropped a bit from the all-but-certain pick in the top ten rounds that projections were saying a year ago, but he is still a highly-regarded prospect at No. 321 in the class and had a strong MLB Draft Combine from the sounds of it.

MLB.com Scouting Report: Has a shot to stick at shortstop, but has moments of loud bat speed and offensive impact. Moves really well for his size, has some lateral burst. Pompey is still growing into his frame and strength. The quirks in his swing should iron themselves out naturally as he gains body control.

Stay tuned for how the draft will shake out for the Red Raiders early next week and we will have a roundup for everything that happened in the coming days after the draft.

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