Former Ohio State pitcher Gavin Bruni was selected by the Washington Nationals in the 17th round of the 2024 MLB draft on Tuesday with the 500th overall pick. He was the only Buckeye to be selected in the draft.
The southpaw played three seasons at Ohio State, appearing in 35 games and finishing with a career ERA of 5.57 with 146 strikeouts and 102 walks. In the 2024 season, Bruni pitched 57 1/3 innings in 14 games (13 starts) and had a 5.81 ERA.
His best season was his sophomore year with the Buckeyes when he had 14 starts and struck out 74 with a 4.87 ERA.
As a high school prospect in 2021, Bruni came out of Alliance High School and was the No. 1 recruit in the state of Ohio, recording 209 strikeouts in 107 career innings pitched.
In 2023, Ohio State had three players drafted. Pitcher Isaiah Coupet was selected by the Colorado Rockies (109th overall) pitcher Josh Timmerman went to the Milwaukee Brewers (482nd) and outfielder Kade Kern went to the Atlanta Braves (519th), each of them signing contracts and heading to the minor leagues.
There are currently only two former Buckeyes in MLB, Dominic Canzone with the Seattle Mariners (playing at OSU from 2017-19) and Rockies pitcher Ryan Feltner (2016-18). St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jacob Bosiokovic was called up late last month but wasnβt able to make it into a game. Also, former Buckeyes catcher Dillon Dingler (2018-20) continues to impress at the Triple-A level in the Detroit Tigers organization and could be called up to the major leagues soon.
