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Joseph Contreras was just a high school senior in March when he got Yankees superstar Aaron Judge to ground into a double play during the World Baseball Classic.
Contreras was pitching for Team Brazil, and that raised the hype around him -- which already existed some because he's the son of long-time MLB pitcher Jose Contreras.
Despite that, though, Joseph Contreras wasn't drafted in the 2026 MLB Draft.
The draft is 20 rounds and 613 picks, and none of them were used on Contreras.
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Why wasn't Joseph Contreras drafted?
This almost certainly has to do with his college commitment to Vanderbilt.
By the time the draft arrives, MLB teams have a good idea of which players are the biggest locks to stick with their commitment and not sign professionally at this time.
Joseph likely falls into that category.
"He could fit into the top two rounds as one of the higher-ceiling arms in the high school class, though teams will have to sign him away from a Vanderbilt commitment," MLB.com wrote in its pre-draft blurb.
Contreras already has promising stuff, and Vandy has produced a ton of quality pitchers through the years, so this is a potentially smart step in his career.
In three years, Contreras will be draft-eligible again. If things go well with the Commodores, he could be looking at a very high draft slot when that time comes.
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