Philadelphia Phillies And San Francisco Giants Draft Former Hilo High Standouts

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Former Hilo High standouts — Devin Saltiban and Maui Ahuna — made news by getting drafted by Major League Baseball teams today.

Saltiban, a shortstop, was chosen No. 98th overall by the Philadelphia Phillies.

A little later another shortstop, Maui Ahuna, went at No. 117 to the San Francisco Giants.

The following links are to videos from MLB.com that give some analysis on the players:

>> Devin Saltiban (post draft)

>> Maui Ahuna (pre draft)

Saltiban, a 2023 Hilo graduate, has a college commitment to the University of Hawaii, but according to MLB.com, he is expected to sign with the Phillies’ organization. He was a recent selection to the ScoringLive.com All-State first team.

MLB.com had this tidbit about Saltiban: “Can hit, proving himself not only in Hawaii, but in tournaments in California and in the MLB Draft League and MLB Combine in June. It was in those places that he proved he can make hard contact against high velocity.

With the 98th pick in the #MLBDraft, the Phillies have selected OF Devin Saltiban. pic.twitter.com/GmxUUJyaV5

— Phillies Player Development (@PhilsPlayerDev) July 10, 2023

Ahuna hit .312 with eight homers and 42 RBIs in 53 games for the University of Tennessee in the recently completed season with the Vols, who made it to the College World Series finals in a two-out-of-three loss to Florida. He also played for Kansas for two years and batted .396 with the Jayhawks in 2022.

With the 117th pick, the @SFGiants select @Vol_Baseball shortstop Maui Ahuna, No. 48 on the Top 250 Draft Prospects list.

Watch live: https://t.co/lv70TuxxSC pic.twitter.com/Up5Gy86O5x

— MLB Draft (@MLBDraft) July 10, 2023

Giants scouting director Michael Holmes told MLB.com this about Ahuna:

“When it comes to Maui, he easily could have been considered the best defensive shortstop in the entire Draft. We put a premium on defense in this organization. We think he’s an impactful defender, and we think we can help him out on the hitting side. He’s already a really good hitter. If we get his approach back to maybe what it was the year before and control the zone a little bit more, we think we’ve got an everyday player.”

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