PJ Morlando, top South Carolina baseball signee, goes in MLB Draft’s first round

It’s been a decade since a high school player from South Carolina was picked in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft.

Summerville High’s PJ Morlando ended that drought on Sunday when he was chosen by the Miami Marlins in the first round (16th overall) of the 2024 MLB Draft. Morlando is the first S.C. player since Conway High’s Grant Holmes in 2014 to be chosen in the first round, by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Holmes recently made his MLB debut last month with the Atlanta Braves.

Morlando watched Sunday’s draft — held in Fort Worth, Texas — with friends and family at Shipyard Park in Mount Pleasant.

“I have been praying and dreaming about this day since I began playing baseball,” Morlando told WCIV’s Scott Eisberg after he was selected. “It has been in my blood and I have been praying that Lord gives me the opportunity and I am going to make the most of it. Can’t wait to go down to Miami my home state and go represent for South Carolina.”

Morlando and his family lived in Tampa before moving to SC.

Morlando signed with South Carolina in November but will almost certainly go the professional route. Slot value for the pick is $4,704,700 but teams can pay less or more than the amount. ESPN’s Jeff Passan said that Morlando will sign for under the slot value.

MLB Pipeline ranked Morlando as the 43rd-best player in this year’s draft. ESPN projected him to go at the 27th pick to the Philadelphia Phillies but went more than 10 picks ahead of that projection.

“The spring was not good,” ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel said of Morlando after he was selected. “He started correcting that at the (MLB) Combine. He’s aware of the adjustment that needs to be made. There’s a shot he has 30 home run power.”

The outfielder has been one of the most highly touted players to come out of the S.C. high school ranks in a long time. Morlando was the MVP of the High School Home Run Derby and the MVP at the High School All-American Game at the All-Star Game last July.

At the MLB Combine last month, Morlando hit a 445-foot home run in batting practice and four balls had more than 110 mph exit velocity off of his bat.

“I would say my game is electric,” Morlando told MLB.com. “I’m always doing something, whether it be at the plate or in the field. I’m always gonna make sure that in some way I can impact the game. You’ll never see me playing the game without a smile on my face. I always have a smile and I’ve just always enjoyed this game.

“I truly do look at life differently than probably most people do. I do actually believe that you only have one of this, so enjoy everything. These are opportunities that not everybody gets to have, so enjoy every single moment. Live it like it’s your last and that’s why playing every single baseball game like it’s your last game here on Earth means a lot.”

This season at Summerville, Morlando won S.C. Gatorade Player of the Year despite being pitched around for most of the season. He hit .392 with two homers and reached base more than 60% percent of the time.

Morlando walked 44 times this year. He scored 44 runs and stole 12 bases.

Morlando is the third member of his family to be taken in the MLB Draft. His grandfather, Bill Nahorodny, was a sixth-round pick by the Philadelphia Phillies and he played nine seasons in the majors. His uncle, William Nahorodny, was drafted in the 40th round of the 1998 draft by the San Francisco Giants out of high school, but he opted to play college baseball at South Florida.

The draft will continue Tuesday at 2 p.m. with rounds 3-10 and be carried on www.mlb.com .

DRAFT TRACKER: PROSPECTS WITH TIES TO STATE OF SC

First Round

16. PJ Morlando, OF, Miami Marlins (Summerville HS and USC signee)

Second Round

54. Cole Mathis, 3B, Chicago Cubs (College of Charleston)

60. Billy Amick, 3B, Minnesota Twins (WW King HS and P27 Academy)