UConn outfielder Kyler Fedko selected in the 12th round of MLB Draft by Minnesota Twins

UConn baseball outfielder Kyler Fedko has been selected in the MLB Draft, going in the 12th round (No. 369 overall) to the Minnesota Twins.

He’s the third Husky to be taken this year and the second picked by the Twins after catcher Pat Winkel went in the ninth round. They’re the first UConn teammates to be drafted by the same team in a single year since the Milwaukee Brewers took Doug Elliot and Elliot Glynn went in the 35th and 39th rounds of the 2011 draft.

Fedko will also join former UConn shortstop Anthony Prato in the Twins organization, who was a seventh round pick back in 2019.

Originally from Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, Fedko had a season for the ages in 2021. He led the Huskies in a litany of offensive categories, including batting average (.398), on-base percentage (.483), slugging percentage (.683), RBI (53), hits (78) and runs (57), while playing in 52 of UConn’s 53 games. He was also one off his brother Christian’s pace for the team-lead in doubles with 14 and one off Reggie Crawford’s 13 home runs as well.

His batting average was 15th in the country and he led the Big East in runs, hits, on-base percentage and total bases (132).

This performance earned him Big East Player of the Year as well as First-Team All-American honors from the NCBWA, as well as placement on the second team from Baseball America and the ABCA, which also named him its District 2 Player of the Year.

Fedko, a third-year sophomore, will have to hit a ton to reach the major leagues. According to Baseball America, which ranked him the No. 500 prospect available this year, Fedko’s speed and defensive profile limit his ability to play positions other than left field at the professional level, a position that typically anchors the lineup.

While he did well at the collegiate level for the Huskies, Fedko doesn’t have the raw power that teams look for in left field and scouts are unsure whether he will be able to continue to hit once he transitions to a wood bat and faces professional pitchers.

He does have eligibility remaining and could return to UConn, should he choose not to sign. Currently, Fedko is playing in the Cape Cod League for the Bourne Braves.