Photo by: Rachel Mahan/Texas A&M Athletics
Three More Aggies Taken in MLB Draft
Jul 11, 2023 | Baseball
SEATTLE, Wash. – Another trio of Texas A&M Aggies had their names called on Tuesday when Jack Moss, Brandyn Garcia and Will Johnston were chosen on the final day of the MLB Draft.
Moss was selected early in the day when the Cincinnati Reds selected him in the 11th round with the 318th overall pick and Garcia was taken not long after, going with the 337th overall pick in the same round by the Seattle Mariners. Johnston was then taken in the 13th round with the 376th overall selection.
The six total selections in the 2023 draft are the most for the program since the 2016 team led all schools in the country with a program-record 13 MLB Draft picks.
The Aggies have had at least two players selected in every draft since 1984, which is the longest streak in the nation. Texas A&M is the only school in the nation to have three or more players picked in every MLB Draft since 2001. The 22-year string is three years longer than the next-closest active run, which is 19 years by Vanderbilt.
Moss has been one of the most trusted bats in the SEC in his two seasons as an Aggie and is a career .368 hitter with a .447 on-base percentage, 10 home runs, 33 doubles and 87 RBI. He has been in the starting lineup of all 129 games Texas A&M has played the last two years.
He hit .380 and 103 hits in 2022, leading the SEC with the fifth most hits in a single season in Aggie history. Moss followed that output in 2023 by tying for 10th in the SEC with a .355 average while ranking third in the league with 93 hits, seventh in walks (47) and ninth in on-base percentage (.457).
Moss was twice named to the SEC All-Tournament team and was also named the MVP of the 2022 College Station Regional and to the All-Regional team at the Stanford Regional this season.
The 2023 season was the first as an Aggie for Garcia, a transfer from Quinnipiac where he made 13 appearances in 2022. The powerful left-handed reliever became a bullpen weapon for the Aggies as the season progressed, making a team-high 27 appearances out of the pen.
He made two appearances before a breakout 3.0-inning stint in a win at Rice on March 8 and saw his usage grow from there. He finished the season with a 3-3 record with one save, holding hitters to a .213 average and punching out 56 batters in 43.2 innings of work.
Johnston has been on the Aggie roster for the past four seasons and has been the most turned-to arm for A&M during the two years Jim Schlossnagle has been at the helm, making 50 of his 66 career appearances 2022 and 2023.
The 6-4 lefty from Keller made his way on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year watch list this season after a stellar 2022 campaign that saw him put up a 3.25 ERA with a 3-1, record, four saves and 49 strikeouts in 36.0 innings while holding hitters to a .236 average.
In 2023 he put up career highs with 70 strikeouts in 47.1 innings, earning three wins and four more saves. He opened the year as one of the Aggies' primary bullpen weapons before moving into the weekend rotation late in the year and making six starts, including a brilliant 6.0-inning outing with seven strikeouts outing in the SEC Tournament in a win over eventual national champion LSU.
Moss was selected early in the day when the Cincinnati Reds selected him in the 11th round with the 318th overall pick and Garcia was taken not long after, going with the 337th overall pick in the same round by the Seattle Mariners. Johnston was then taken in the 13th round with the 376th overall selection.
The six total selections in the 2023 draft are the most for the program since the 2016 team led all schools in the country with a program-record 13 MLB Draft picks.
The Aggies have had at least two players selected in every draft since 1984, which is the longest streak in the nation. Texas A&M is the only school in the nation to have three or more players picked in every MLB Draft since 2001. The 22-year string is three years longer than the next-closest active run, which is 19 years by Vanderbilt.
Moss has been one of the most trusted bats in the SEC in his two seasons as an Aggie and is a career .368 hitter with a .447 on-base percentage, 10 home runs, 33 doubles and 87 RBI. He has been in the starting lineup of all 129 games Texas A&M has played the last two years.
He hit .380 and 103 hits in 2022, leading the SEC with the fifth most hits in a single season in Aggie history. Moss followed that output in 2023 by tying for 10th in the SEC with a .355 average while ranking third in the league with 93 hits, seventh in walks (47) and ninth in on-base percentage (.457).
Moss was twice named to the SEC All-Tournament team and was also named the MVP of the 2022 College Station Regional and to the All-Regional team at the Stanford Regional this season.
The 2023 season was the first as an Aggie for Garcia, a transfer from Quinnipiac where he made 13 appearances in 2022. The powerful left-handed reliever became a bullpen weapon for the Aggies as the season progressed, making a team-high 27 appearances out of the pen.
He made two appearances before a breakout 3.0-inning stint in a win at Rice on March 8 and saw his usage grow from there. He finished the season with a 3-3 record with one save, holding hitters to a .213 average and punching out 56 batters in 43.2 innings of work.
Johnston has been on the Aggie roster for the past four seasons and has been the most turned-to arm for A&M during the two years Jim Schlossnagle has been at the helm, making 50 of his 66 career appearances 2022 and 2023.
The 6-4 lefty from Keller made his way on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year watch list this season after a stellar 2022 campaign that saw him put up a 3.25 ERA with a 3-1, record, four saves and 49 strikeouts in 36.0 innings while holding hitters to a .236 average.
In 2023 he put up career highs with 70 strikeouts in 47.1 innings, earning three wins and four more saves. He opened the year as one of the Aggies' primary bullpen weapons before moving into the weekend rotation late in the year and making six starts, including a brilliant 6.0-inning outing with seven strikeouts outing in the SEC Tournament in a win over eventual national champion LSU.