Minooka’s Nate George selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2024 MLB Draft

When Lincoln-Way East’s Tyler Bell was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday night in the 2024 MLB Draft, he heard his name called sooner than many expected. The belief was that Minooka’s Nate George wouldn’t be too far behind him, but his name wound up being called much later than expected.

Still, Tuesday afternoon in the 16th round, George did hear his name called.

George, a recent graduate of Minooka, was selected with the 489th pick of the 2024 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles in the 16th round. Although he has the option of declining to sign and instead attend college, it’s believed he intends to go pro now. He previously committed to Eastern Illinois University.

“The biggest thing here is you just love to see a kid’s hopes and dreams come true,” Minooka coach Jeff Petrovic said. “He puts in all this work and effort to reach this goal and dream, and now he’s going to get his shot. That’s all you can ask for. Now it’s in his hands, and he’s going to see where it takes him. He’s worked really hard to get to this point, and he’s very deserving. We’re very proud of him and happy for him.”

It was surprising George ended up waiting as long as he did. A center fielder, George was one of the best players in the area this past season. He put up a slash line of .404/.488/.844 with an OPS of 1.33. He had 48 hits in 129 plate appearances with nine home runs, 40 RBIs, 41 runs scored and stole 22 bases in 24 attempts.

ESPN had George ranked as its 195th-best prospect in the 2024 draft class. That he lasted until 489 was somewhat surprising.

Petrovic said George is the eighth player he’s coached to have been drafted.

“He’s a mega-talented kid with all of the tools,” Petrovic said. “He’s incredibly strong, incredibly fast, has tons of power and is a really good defensive outfielder. He really checks all of the boxes. Even when I was talking to scouts I told them I don’t have any reservations about this kid, and that’s hard to say about most kids. ... He doesn’t have any big flaws or major issues.”

He’d be heading to a great organization if he does ultimately go to Baltimore. The Orioles won the AL East last season, making the playoffs for the first time in seven years following a long rebuilding process. The wait for that process has been worth it, as Baltimore is 58-38 and in sole possession of first place of the AL East at the All-Star break. The Orioles have the third-best record in all of baseball.

They’ve also had a ton of success in recent years with drafting and developing players. Catcher Adley Rutschman already has made two All-Star games since being drafted in 2019, Gunnar Henderson is the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, and 2022 first overall pick Jackson Holiday is the top prospect in baseball.

Petrovic said he believes George has the talent to make it to Baltimore in the not-too-distant future.

“A lot of times it just takes a break,” Petrovic said. “Do they have a roster spot? Has there been an injury? That sort of thing. It’s tough to squeeze through. ... He’s pretty talented. He has the power and speed, he can steal bases and really hits home runs. He’s a really good fit for the style of today’s major league game, so hopefully he’ll be there sooner than later.”