Major League Baseball’s draft tracker lists more than 15 players with Hawaii ties as possible selections in the 2024 MLB First-Year Player Draft beginning today with the first round.
What could certainly be a busy three days for Hawaii’s top players begins with Saint Louis alumnus Caleb Lomavita, who could hear his name called today.
Lomavita, who turned down a significant signing bonus out of high school to play three years at Cal, is listed as a first-round pick in multiple mock drafts online.
He is ranked as MLB’s 33rd overall prospect and third at the catcher position.
Lomavita was named to the All-Pac-12 first team twice in three seasons and made Perfect Game’s All-America third team as a junior, when he hit .322 with 13 doubles, 15 homers and 52 RBIs.
He ranks seventh all-time at Cal with 38 homers and is tied for ninth with 141 career RBIs.
Also ranked by MLB.com at No. 186 overall is Kamehameha’s Jace Souza, who has signed to play at Texas Tech if he opts not to turn pro.
Souza, a 6-foot-1 outfielder, hit .371 as a senior for the Warriors with five doubles, a triple, two homers and 29 stolen bases in 62 at-bats.
He was named to the Star-Advertiser All-State first team this year for the second consecutive season.
Another intriguing prospect from Hawaii is Ka’imi Kahalekai, a 6-foot-8 right-hander from Kamehameha-Maui.
Kahalekai had signed with Texas but earlier this week reopened his recruitment after the Longhorns fired head coach David Pierce last month.
All-State Position Player of the Year Sean Yamaguchi and his Saint Louis teammate, Tanner Chun, along with Mid-Pacific’s Chandler Murray and Maryknoll’s Jacob Remily are listed in MLB.com’s draft database from Hawaii.
Hawaii’s Jordan Donahue and Austin Machado are among the Rainbows with college eligibility remaining who could potentially get picked.
The first two rounds of the draft are today with rounds 3-10 on Monday and rounds 11-20 on Tuesday.
Hilo’s Devin Saltiban was the first player selected with Hawaii ties last year in the third round by the Philadelphia Phillies.
The last player from Hawaii taken in the first two rounds was Hilo’s Micah Bello, who Milwaukee selected with the No. 73 overall pick in 2018.
