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Two Wisconsin players taken in first two rounds of Major League Baseball draft (and more Wisconsinites taken thereafter)

Tomah native Connor Prielipp, a left-hander now at Alabama, was selected by the Twins in the second round.
Tomah native Connor Prielipp, a left-hander now at Alabama, was selected by the Twins in the second round.

The steady ascension of Wisconsin baseball has arrived at a point where two players from the Badger State getting taken in the first two rounds of the Major League Baseball draft barely counts as surprising anymore.

Former Green Bay Preble standout Max Wagner, a third baseman now at Clemson, was selected in the second round (42nd pick) by the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. He became the first player from Green Bay public schools ever selected.

More: These are the major-league (and minor-league) baseball players from Wisconsin in 2022

Six picks later, the Minnesota Twins made Tomah native Connor Prielipp their pick. The left-handed pitcher is now at Alabama.

Wagner was named the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year and was a finalist for national player of the year after his breakout sophomore season at Clemson, where he hit .369 with 27 homers (tying a Clemson single-season record) and 76 RBI, getting on base at a .496 clip.

Prielipp is one of many top college pitchers in this year's draft to have undergone Tommy John surgery, with his procedure in May 2021. He's back to pitching, however, and was regarded by many outlets as a first-round talent.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder was named Alabama's opening day starter in 2020 before the season was dramatically truncated by the COVID-19 pandemic. He was taken in the 37th round out of high school by the Boston Red Sox but did not sign. Though he never returned to the mound for Alabama after elbow surgery, he did participate in the MLB draft combine in June.

Slot value for the two picks have been assigned at $1.86 million and $1.62 million; the players can sign for more or less than that value, but the "worth" of each pick plays into how much teams are permitted to offer their draft picks in total.

Other Wisconsinites taken in the draft

Missouri State's Drake Baldwin, right, smiles while celebrating with Hayden Moore (14) after hitting a home run  against Oklahoma State during an NCAA college baseball tournament regional game Sunday, June 5, 2022, in Stillwater, Okla. (Ian Maule/Tulsa World via AP)
Missouri State's Drake Baldwin, right, smiles while celebrating with Hayden Moore (14) after hitting a home run against Oklahoma State during an NCAA college baseball tournament regional game Sunday, June 5, 2022, in Stillwater, Okla. (Ian Maule/Tulsa World via AP)

THIRD ROUND: Drake Baldwin, C, Missouri State (Madison West High School), No. 96 by the Atlanta Braves. The left-handed hitting catcher batted .341 in 60 games this year, with 19 home runs.

THIRD ROUND: Alan Roden, OF, Creighton (Middleton High School), No. 98 by Toronto Blue Jays. The left-handed bat won Big East player of the year honors at Creighton this season, hitting .387 and reaching base at a .492 clip to lead the team in both categories.

SEVENTH ROUND: A.J. Blubaugh, RHP, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, No. 223 by Houston Astros. The two-time reliever of the year in the Horizon League hails originally from Ohio.

Oklahoma State's Griffin Doersching yells after hitting a double against Arkansas during an NCAA college baseball tournament regional game in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, June 4, 2022. (Ian Maule/Tulsa World via AP)
Oklahoma State's Griffin Doersching yells after hitting a double against Arkansas during an NCAA college baseball tournament regional game in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, June 4, 2022. (Ian Maule/Tulsa World via AP)

EIGHTH ROUND: Griffin Doersching, 1B, Oklahoma State (Greendale), No. 240 by San Diego Padres. The slugger spent most of his career at Northern Kentucky before playing for Oklahoma State as a graduate transfer, where he hit 15 home runs. One was measured at 513 feet (at least, according to OSU), making it the longest homer hit in NCAA Division I this year.

ELEVENTH ROUND: Christian Oppor, P (Columbus High School), No. 334 by Oakland. The 6-1 lefty has committed to play college ball at Gulf Coast State College in Florida and became the first Wisconsin high-schooler off the board.

THIRTEENTH ROUND: Gaven Kilen, SS (Milton High School), No. 399 by Boston Red Sox. Kilen helped his team win the state title this past season and has committed to Louisville. He was regarded as the top prep prospect in the state coming into the draft.

Other notes

In the ninth round, the Detroit Tigers selected Georgia Tech first baseman Andrew Jenkins, who went to high school in Georgia but was born in Milwaukee and is the son of Scott Jenkins, a former All-American distance runner at the University of Wisconsin and former vice president of ballpark operations for the Brewers at County Stadium and Miller Park, as well as general manager of the Kohl Center in Madison.

Marquis Grissom, Jr., the son of the former Brewers outfielder, was selected in the 13th round by the Washington Nationals. He's a pitcher at Georgia Tech.

Jackson Jaha, a corner infielder out of Clackamas High School in Oregon, was taken in the 13th round by the New York Mets. He's the son of former Brewers first baseman John Jaha. The younger Jaha has a scholarship to attend Oregon.

JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Two Wisconsin natives were selected in the second round of MLB draft