Duke baseball pitcher Jonathan Santucci drafted by the New York Mets with the 46th pick in the MLB draft

The Blue Devils have their first draftee of 2024.

On Sunday evening, junior starting pitcher Jonathan Santucci became the first player from this year’s squad to head to the professional ranks, as he was selected 46th overall by the New York Mets on the MLB draft's first night. 

Over the past two seasons, the junior has served as the ace of the Duke staff when healthy, establishing himself as one of the best pitchers in the ACC. This season, Santucci was dominant on the mound in his 13 starts; he ended with a 6-1 record and a 3.31 ERA, earning him first-team All-ACC honors. The Leominster, Mass., native had some dominant games, racking up 14 strikeouts against Akron and pitching six innings against top-10 Florida State. 

However, the highly touted arm struggled with injury troubles during the past two seasons. In 2023, he only made it seven games before suffering an injury that forced him to miss the rest of the regular season, depriving head coach Chris Pollard of an elite option to trot out during the postseason. This year, the injury luck was not as bad, but Santucci still missed three weeks with a rib injury, causing him to miss the ACC tournament and return on a pitch count for the NCAA tournament.

With its ace now gone to the pros, the Blue Devils will likely count on rising sophomore Kyle Johnson to be their Friday night starter next season.