Texas A&M junior SS Hunter Haas is heading from Texas to Tampa Bay, as the Rays selected him in the fourth round and 120th overall in the MLB Draft on Monday, July 10. Haas is the first Aggie to be selected in this year’s draft, with multiple others expected to come off the board.
The Phoenix native played a major role for the maroon and white at the plate and defensively in a 38-27 spring campaign that ended in the Regionals of the NCAA Tournament. In his only year in an A&M uniform, Haas started all but one game for the Aggies, hitting at a .323 clip and belting 10 home runs with 46 runs batted in. He drew a team-high 49 walks en route to a .447 on-base percentage and .953 OPS.
Haas did a terrific job at shortstop as well, committing just six errors over the season as part of an effective tandem with senior 2B Austin Bost. He put together a .974 fielding percentage with seven stolen bases and was named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award for his all-around efforts.
Haas came to Aggieland through the transfer portal after two seasons as a third baseman at Arizona State in the Pac-12. He got off to a hot start in his 2021 freshman season, batting .304 with two long balls and 29 RBIs in 55 starts. Haas was named a Collegiate Baseball News Freshman All-American and to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team with 22 multi-hit games and a team-high 12 stolen bases, committing just six errors at the hot corner.
Haas took a step back in his second season with the Sun Devils, due in part to a partially torn rotator cuff that kept him out of play for an extended period of time. He started 19 games, hitting at just a .186 rate with seven runs batted in. In the field, he made six errors for a .897 fielding rate.
MLB.com tabbed Haas as the 188th prospect in this year’s draft and predicted him to go within the first five rounds. At the midway point of the MLB season, the Rays carry the second-best record at 58-35.
“His floor stands out more than his ceiling and his makeup may be more impressive than any of his individual tools,” MLB.com said. “He’s capable of filling in at short but not playing there regularly at the big league level, where he profiles more as a second baseman or utilityman.”