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Ankeny Centennial’s Joey Oakie selected in third round of MLB Draft by Guardians

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Ankeny Centennial’s Joey Oakie selected in third round of MLB Draft by Guardians

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Ankeny Centennial’s Joey Oakie and his family were cleaning up things at their house from their Major League Baseball Draft day get-together Sunday evening when his agent called.

Oakie hadn’t heard his name called yet and had turned down several teams that weren’t willing to match the money he wanted. So he figured his agent was calling to tell him he would be headed to Iowa to play baseball for the Hawkeyes.

“He said, ‘The Guardians got your money, you’re going to go to them (Monday),’” Oakie recalled. “That was kind of the draft moment where I got the call.”

The problem was, Oakie couldn’t tell anyone until it became official Monday. He didn’t have to wait long. Oakie quickly heard his name called during the second day of the MLB Draft when the Cleveland Guardians selected him in the third round with the 84th overall pick.

Oakie said he plans to pass on going to college at Iowa and will instead sign with the Guardians to begin his professional career.

“Everyone was asking, ‘What are you doing, what’s going on?’ and we couldn’t say anything,” Oakie said.

More local draftees: Former Dowling Catholic player Blake Larson selected by Chicago White Sox in MLB Draft

Oakie sat through the first two rounds of the draft Sunday night. The three-day event picked up Monday afternoon with the third round and Oakie, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher, becoming the 10th selection of the day.

The assigned slot value of the 84th pick is $906,800. Oakie said he’ll get that and much more, a move the Guardians made to lure him away from his scholarship at Iowa.

“It feels great to know my path to the big leagues,” Oakie said. “It’s really amazing.”

Oakie has widely been considered one of the top talents in the nation the last few years. He owns a fastball that’s been clocked in the high 90s and could eventually reach triple digits. He entered the event as the 46th-best prospect in the draft according to MLB.com.

Oakie was part of the Perfect Game All-American Classic and pitched for Team USA’s 18 and under team. During his junior season, he compiled a microscopic 1.13 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP to go along with 91 strikeouts across 49 2/3 innings of work. He’s been just as good this season, going 4-2 with a 1.26 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 39 innings.

More local draftees: Iowa pitcher Brody Brecht selected by Rockies with 38th overall pick in MLB Draft

Oakie’s father, Blaine, said Monday that his son likely has played his last game with Centennial, and that he certainly won’t pitch for the Jaguars.

There’s never been a question about Oakie’s talent. Instead, the biggest issue was his signability. The longtime Hawkeye fan had an undisclosed number in mind that he wanted teams to reach. If no one offered that dollar amount, he was willing to go to Iowa, a school he committed to before even throwing a pitch for his high school team.

Quietly sitting on the news for a night wasn’t easy for Oakie. But then again, the last few months have been a little nerve-racking too.

“Crazy,” Oakie said. “Nervous and everything in between. Just thinking every day about what my future holds.”

But now the young flamethrower has a good idea of what the future looks like. That includes signing with Cleveland and perhaps a fast rise through the minor leagues. Oakie said he’s ready to put in the work.

“I have so much to do,” he said.

Other Iowans selected on the second day of the draft

  • Jackson Wentworth, Waukee High School (Kansas State), fifth round, Toronto Blue Jays.
  • Brett Sears, Harlan Community High School, Iowa Central, (Nebraska), seventh round, Atlanta Braves
  • Sam Petersen, Ballard High School (Iowa), eighth round, Washington Nationals.
  • Jack Young, Pleasant Valley High School (Iowa), ninth round, Chicago White Sox.
  • Marcus Morgan, Iowa City West High School (Iowa), ninth round, Philadelphia Phillies.

Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.

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