Two Gophers were drafted, extending a monumental streak for the U baseball program, and three other players who went to high school in Minnesota were taken.

By Star Tribune staff

July 13, 2023 at 11:46AM

Brett Bateman of the Gophers was drafted by the Cubs in the eighth round. (Andy Clayton-King, Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Four Minnesota natives were taken in the Major League Baseball draft this week.

Mac Horvath of Rochester went in the second round, 53rd overall, to Baltimore.

Horvath played three years at North Carolina, as a junior last season he hit .305 with 24 home runs, the second highest in program history. He also stole 25 bases, starting 32 games at third base and 28 in the outfield.

The slot value of the signing bonus for Horvath, who prepped at Florida's IMG Academy after playing at Rochester Century High School, is $1.58 million.

Seth Halvorsen of Plymouth, who led Heritage Christian to the Class 1A state championship in 2018, was a seventh round (202^nd overall) pick by Colorado.

Halvorsen spent the past five years in college — three years at Missouri and the past two at Tennessee. He sat out the 2022 season with an injury. The righthanded reliever was 3-3 with a 3.81 ERA in 52 innings last season, starting one game and pitching 24 out of the bullpen. His signing bonus is slotted at $263,000.

The Twins drafted Halvorsen in the 30^th round out of high school, and he was also taken by the Phillies in the 19^th round in 2021.

Righthanded pitcher Isaac Morton of Spring Lake Park High School was chosen by the Brewers in the 19^th round, 572^nd overall. He has committed to play for Texas A&M.

Gophers righthanded pitcher George Klassen was a sixth-round pick by the Phillies, 193^rd overall (projected bonus: $282,900).

His teammate, outfielder Brett Bateman, went to the Cubs in the eighth round (236^th overall, $203,600 slot value).

Klassen, from Port Washington, Wis., had Tommy John surgery as a freshman for the Gophers. He was 1-7 with a 5.72 ERA in 14 appearances last season as a redshirt sophomore, starting 13 games.

Bateman, from Mounds View, is playing for Cotuit of the Cape Cod summer league. As a junior for the Gophers, he hit .354 with a team-high 17 stolen bases.

Those two picks moved the Gophers streak of having a player selected in the MLB draft to 36 years.