Whitaker heads to the Twin Cities with the 578th overall pick
Logan Whitaker became the fourth and final NC State player selected in the 2024 MLB Draft as Minnesota used their 19th round pick – #578 overall – on the Wolfpack righty.
Whitaker had quite a unique collegiate career. He joined NC State as part of their 2018 signing class, but did not play in 2019-2021 due to various injuries. Finally healthy, Whitaker earned a spot mid-year in the weekend rotation for the Wolfpack in 2022 and would go on to start 38 games among his 46 overall appearances over his final three seasons, posting a line of 10-8, 4.87 ERA, 205.1 IP, 7.8 BB%, 23.2 K%.
Despite missing over a month of the 2024 season due to illness, Whitaker helped solidify a weekend rotation that led the Wolfpack to the College World Series in Omaha. This year, he went 3-1, 5.49 ERA, 59.0 IP, 8.2 BB%, 25.8 K%. The Winston-Salem native saved his best for last, tossing 17.1 innings of 2.60 ERA ball with 5 BB and 23 K over three NCAA tournament outings.
It’s an uphill battle for any 19th round pick to make it – and even harder when entering a Twins organization that used 13 of their 20 draft picks on pitchers – but Whitaker has the mental toughness, strike-throwing ability, pitch arsenal, and durability to give him a better chance than most. He should fast track to high-A ball and get a good look by an organization that is pretty solid at developing pitchers.
The most surprising NC State players to go undrafted were Alec Makarewicz and Garrett Pennington, with both likely falling off draft boards due to their age (both turn 24 this year). The pair of Pack corner infielders shouldn’t go without homes for long, though, and should be expected to sign UDFA deals in the coming days. Sam Highfill and Noah Soles are other names to watch on the UDFA front.
In good news for NC State’s 2025 roster outlook, Dom Fritton went undrafted, as did Matt Willadsen. While Willadsen’s 2025 status is murky following elbow surgery, the Pack will potentially return a pair of weekend rotation veterans totaling 71 career starts and 396.0 innings.
State’s incoming recruiting class also fared well in the draft, with only IF Devin Fitz-Gerald (5th round, Rangers) being drafted. Fitz-Gerald should be expected to sign and not make it to Raleigh, but fellow highly-regarded prospect OF Ty Head (ranked as the #111 overall prospect in the draft by Perfect Game) went undrafted, as did all other eight members of the incoming freshman class, and incoming transfer OF Dalen Thompson.