Local prep baseball stars could be selected in MLB draft

By Alex Wright Las Vegas Review-Journal

5 months ago

Basic shortstop Ty Southisene (3) celebrates after scoring during a high school baseball game a ... — Basic shortstop Ty Southisene (3) celebrates after scoring during a high school baseball game against Faith Lutheran on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at Faith Lutheran High School in Las Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Bishop Gorman’s Burke Mabeus connects for a hit against Desert Oasis during a Class 5A high school baseball state title game at UNR’s Peccole Park, on Saturday, May 20, 2023, in Reno. Bishop Gorman won 10-1. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye Las Vegas Review-Journal) @btesfaye

Two of Southern Nevada’s top high school baseball players could hear their names called during the upcoming MLB draft.

Basic shortstop Ty Southisene and Bishop Gorman catcher Burke Mabeus are among the top 250 prospects, according to MLB.com and ESPN.

The MLB draft begins Sunday in Fort Worth, Texas, with the first two rounds. Rounds 3-10 take place Monday, and the draft concludes Tuesday with rounds 11-20.

Southisene is the No. 111 prospect by MLB.com and ESPN’s No. 132 prospect. Southisene, listed at 5 feet, 9 inches and 170 pounds, is committed to play in college at Tennessee. The Volunteers won the College World Series in June.

A two-time first-team All-Southern Nevada infielder, Southisene hit .495 with 24 RBIs last season.

Mabeus is the No. 159 prospect by MLB.com and ESPN’s No. 234 prospect. The 6-3, 210-pounder is committed to play in college at Oregon.

Mabeus, a two-time first-team All-Southern Nevada catcher, hit .320 with 21 RBIs and was named the Class 5A Desert League player of the year last season.

UNLV pitcher Austin Cates is on ESPN’s list as the No. 190 overall prospect. The right-hander posted a 6-5 record with a 4.08 ERA and 107 strikeouts in his lone season with the Rebels last year and was an All-Mountain West first-team selection.

A Henderson native, Cates graduated from Coronado and played two seasons at the College of Southern Nevada before joining UNLV.

National outlook

Charlie Condon, a walk-on at Georgia who became national player of the year, and Travis Bazzana, a former cricket player who left Australia for Oregon State, could be the top two overall picks.

Cleveland has the top choice for the first time after winning the draft lottery in December, and Cincinnati selects second.

“The general consensus is that it’s probably close to an average draft year,” Philadelphia Phillies assistant general manager of amateur scouting Brian Barber said. “I don’t think it’s a secret, you’re going to see the top half of the draft dominated by college position players.”

Condon, a 6-6 third baseman and outfielder, led the NCAA this year with a .433 average and 37 homers. The 21-year-old homered in eight straight games from April 26 to May 9, one shy of the NCAA record, and won the Golden Spikes Award.

Bazzana, a 21-year-old second baseman, batted .407 with 28 homers and 66 RBIs.

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X. The Associated Press contributed to this story.