2 Tar Heels Picked on Day 2 of MLB Draft
Incoming UNC recruit, transfer also drafted
Two North Carolina baseball players heard their names called on Day 2 of the 2022 MLB Draft on Monday, extending UNC’s streak of consecutive Drafts with at least one selection to 45.
Shortstop Danny Serretti came off the board first when the Detroit Tigers took him in the sixth round (No. 177 overall). Right-hander Davis Palermo was then drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the eighth round (No. 236 overall), giving the Tar Heels multiple top-10-round picks for the sixth time in the last seven Drafts that have lasted more than five rounds.
A four-year starter, Serretti first drew scouts’ attention by slashing .299/.373/.424 as a true freshman in 2019, but over the next two years, the switch-hitter saw his offensive numbers dip. That, however, didn’t deter him, and he turned in his best campaign yet this spring, notching career highs in several statistical category — including hits (96), home runs (10), RBIs (54), total bases (149), batting average (.365), on-base percentage (.437), slugging percentage (.567) and OPS (1.004). Most impressively, he did so while cutting his strikeout rate from 19.9% in 2021 to 12.6%.
For his career, Serretti is a .303/.382/.475 hitter with 237 hits, 22 homers, 145 RBIs, 143 runs scored and an .857 OPS in 199 games (198 starts). His 55 doubles are the eighth most in program history, and his 84 extra-base hits rank just outside the top 10.
Serretti is the ninth Tar Heel to be drafted by the Tigers and the first since Austin Bergner (ninth round, No. 262 overall) and Gianluca Dalatri (40th round, No. 1,192 overall, didn’t sign) in 2019. Serretti is the first position player to be taken by the franchise since Chris Maples (sixth round, No. 170 overall) in 2002.
A Chapel Hill native, Palermo tossed just 26 2/3 innings over his first three years at UNC — the first of which he redshirted and the second of which was cut short by the pandemic. Everything came together for the righty this spring, though, as he recorded a 2.78 ERA, 74 strikeouts (30.5 K%) and five saves in 58 1/3 innings over 37 games. He also lowered his walk rate from 19.3% in 2021 to 9.9% en route to earning third-team All-America honors from Perfect Game.
The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder possesses a tantalizing arsenal, highlighted by a high-spin fastball that topped out at 99 mph this spring. His most-used secondary was a mid-80s slider, and he also experimented with a spike-curve. Combine those three pitches with a splitter that showed plenty of promise in the offseason, and Palermo has a pitch mix that could compel the Rockies to give him a shot at starting.
Palermo is the ninth Tar Heel to be picked by Colorado and the first since Kyle Datres (12th round, No. 366 overall) in 2018. Palermo is the first pitcher to be drafted by the franchise since Patrick Johnson (25th round, No. 768 overall) in 2011. The only UNC player who the Rockies have taken higher is Chris Iannetta (fourth round, No. 110 overall) in 2004.
In addition to Serretti and Palermo, two incoming Tar Heels were drafted Monday.
Randleman (N.C.) High School catcher Brooks Brannon was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the ninth round with the No. 279 overall pick, which comes with an MLB-determined bonus slot value of $158,100. Southern California transfer Matt Keating — a right-hander — was taken by the New York Yankees with the next pick, which has a slot value of $157,900.
According to Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo, players drafted among the top 10 rounds in the bonus pool era (since 2012) sign more than 95% of the time.
The 2022 MLB Draft wraps up Tuesday with Rounds 11-20, beginning at 2 p.m. on MLB.com.