Christian Ciuffetelli is the first 2022 Oregon Duck to sign an undrafted free agent contract. The right-handed pitcher shared on Instagram Tuesday that he has joined the Washington Nationals organization.
The MLB draft concluded earlier Tuesday. Eight Ducks were selected, four of which were incoming commits. Josh Kasevich (second round), Anthony Hall (fourth round), Brennan Milone (sixth round) and Adam Maier (seventh round) were the four 2022 Ducks taken in the draft.
No members of the recent squad were picked on Tuesday, with Ciuffetelli among the notable omissions. On July 1, analyst Brett Homer tweeted that he was one of the highest VAA standouts on his fastball. VAA stands for vertical approach angle, an advanced analytic which FanGraphs went into more detail on here.
Ciuffetelli had a breakout 2022 in his fourth season with Oregon. He posted a 3.55 ERA in 33 innings, limiting batters to a .238 average. He was the hardest thrower on the Ducks’ pitching staff, topping out in the mid-to-upper 90s.
He was especially valuable in the absence of injured ace Adam Maier. He started seven games for Oregon, becoming a long opener for RJ Gordon near the end of the season. He started the Ducks’ first game of the Pac-12 Tournament and first game of the Louisville Regional against Michigan.
Ducks like Drew Cowley and Kolby Somers could be joining him in the near future. The signing deadline for players with remaining college eligibility is August 1.
Last year, Kenyon Yovan and Gabe Matthews signed undrafted free agent contracts with the Los Angeles Angels.
The details of Ciuffetelli’s contract have not been reported yet.