Aaron Judge was grounded into a double play by Joseph Contreras on 10 March 2026 during the World Baseball Classic, yet the Brazilian right-hander went completely unselected in the 2026 MLB Draft on 12 July 2026.
What happened in Miami?
Contreras, a 17-year-old high school senior, was pitching for Team Brazil on 10 March 2026 when he forced Aaron Judge into a 6-4-3 double play. The moment flashed across highlight reels and stoked draft buzz around the son of former MLB pitcher Jose Contreras. Scouts pegged Contreras as a potential top-two-round talent, but when the 613 picks were exhausted on 12 July 2026, his name never appeared.
Why did Joseph Contreras slip through the 2026 Draft?
Teams had already penciled Contreras in as a Vanderbilt lock. MLB.com’s pre-draft blurb on 30 June 2026 noted that 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.” With the Commodores already set to land one of the game’s top pitching prospects, scouts treated Contreras as a non-starter in 2026.
What’s next for Contreras?
Contreras will pitch for Vanderbilt in 2026-27 and re-enter the draft in 2029. If his development mirrors the Commodores’ pipeline—think Walker Buehler or Sonny Gray—he could rocket up boards in three years. For now, the 17-year-old remains on campus in Nashville, waiting for his next shot at the big leagues.
How Judge’s WBC moment still echoes
Judge’s 10 March 2026 double-play grounder became the most-watched plate appearance of the tournament. It also became the moment that briefly catapulted Contreras into the spotlight—only for the spotlight to flicker out when the draft passed without his name called.