The MLB Draft took place July 11 and 12, securing four Stanford baseball players spots in the big leagues. Following the 20-round draft, three more players signed with teams as UDFAs. All seven players have officially signed with their respective organizations.

Junior right-handed pitcher Aidan Keenan was the first from the Cardinal selected for the draft as pick 210 in round seven. The New York Mets drafted Keenan following his oblique injury earlier in the 2026 season. Keenan finished his collegiate career with a 5.79 ERA over 65.1 innings pitched, starting in a total of eight games.

Sophomore first baseman Rintaro Sasaki was the second off the board in round eight as the 235th pick. The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks also picked Sasaki in the first round of the Nippon Professional Baseball Draft in Japan. Ultimately, Sasaki decided to sign with the Miami Marlins. 

“I went back and forth on this decision until the very end,” Sasaki said. “Even if this path ultimately turns out to be the wrong choice, I do not want to live with regret. Rather than defining my life by whether I succeed or fail, I want to define it by whether I had the courage to take on a challenge. With that belief in mind, I ultimately decided to pursue this path.”

Sasaki played and started a total of 106 games on The Farm, averaging .265 at the plate across 407 at-bats. The first baseman also hit 23 home runs in his two seasons with the Cardinal.

Junior infielder Eric Jeon landed with the Seattle Mariners next in round 10 as pick 310, becoming the highest-ranked Korean player in the history of the MLB Draft. Jeon began his collegiate baseball career at Columbia University before transferring to Stanford his junior year. In his three years of college baseball, Jeon played 89 games and recorded a batting average of 0.321, an on-base percentage of 0.409 and a slugging percentage of 0.531, alongside 14 home runs and 62 RBIs.

The final pick from the Cardinal was senior outfielder Cort MacDonald. The Colorado Rockies selected MacDonald in the 19th round as the 554th pick. Across four seasons at Stanford, MacDonald hit .309/.385/.409 with 23 doubles, one triple and six home runs in 131 games. 

An additional three Stanford players were selected following the draft as undrafted free agents (UDFAs).

The San Francisco Giants landed senior right-handed pitcher Toran O’Harran. This season was the California native’s best season on The Farm, working 40 innings and holding a 4.05 ERA. O’Harran held a 1.475 WHIP and struck out 34 while walking 20.

The Washington Nationals took senior right-handed pitcher Trevor Moore after finishing with a 7-11 record and a 5.62 ERA across 133 innings on The Farm. 

Outside of Stanford, within the MLB Draft League and the Summer League between seasons, Moore has put together an impressive campaign, holding a 2.41 ERA in 71 innings, walking 38 and striking out 83. 

The final member of Stanford’s draft class is senior infielder Jimmy Nati, tabbed by the Kansas City Royals. The Aussie started 159 of 174 games with the Cardinal, putting up a batting average of .278 with 173 hits and 32 home runs. Nati became the 27th Australian under contract with an MLB organization. 

The program’s departing professionals will report to their team’s Spring Training Complex, either with the Arizona or Florida Complex League, for a short adjustment period consisting of physicals, orientation and workouts. They then have the opportunity to begin their career in the Minors in their organization’s Low- or High-A teams. It can take anywhere from a few months to a decade or more for an athlete to make it to the Majors.

The four drafted this year bring Stanford’s total drafted to 36 during Head Coach David Esquer’s tenure, which began in 2018. The Cardinal had its most draftees this year since nine were selected in 2023.