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These 6 Jewish baseball players were just drafted into the MLB
(JTA) — Though there were no Jewish players at this week’s MLB All-Star Game, the future is bright.
The best bellwether of what’s to come is the MLB Draft, which included 20 rounds split between the past three nights. A total of 614 players were drafted this year, and according to Jewish Baseball News, six of them are Jewish.
Scott Barancik, the site’s editor, said six picks in 20 rounds is a fairly high number — especially considering the fact that the draft used to be twice the size.
Here’s the 2023 Jewish MLB draft class:
Jake Gelof, 60th overall
Taken in the second round by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Jake Gelof is a power-hitting third baseman who just concluded a record-setting career at the University of Virginia. The 21-year-old Delaware native holds the all-time home run record at his alma mater, where he slugged 48 home runs across three seasons. Gelof’s older brother Zack, also a UVA alum, was drafted 60th overall in 2021 and is the No. 3 prospect in the Oakland Athletics organization. Zack represented Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and the two brothers are likely to play for Israel in the 2026 WBC.
The Los Angeles Dodgers select power-hitting infielder Jake Gelof from the University of Virginia with the 60th overall pick in the second round of the 2023 MLB Draft. pic.twitter.com/x4vBXd8XHb
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 10, 2023
Zach Levenson, 158th overall
Outfielder Zach Levenson was taken in the fifth round out of the University of Miami, joining the St. Louis Cardinals organization. In 114 college games across two seasons with the Hurricanes, the Florida native hit .295 with 21 home runs and 73 runs batted in. Levenson was ranked 204th in MLB’s prospect rankings.
With the 158th overall pick of the 2023 #MLBDraft, the #STLCards select OF Zach Levenson! pic.twitter.com/eK4jJvc0Tz
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) July 10, 2023
Lucas Braun, 189th overall
The first of two Jewish pitchers drafted this year, Lucas Braun was taken in the sixth round by the Atlanta Braves. Braun finished his college career with two seasons at California State University, Northridge, where the 21-year-old right-hander posted a 3.97 earned-run average with 177 strikeouts in 165.2 innings. The Los Angeles native was named to the All-Big West Second Team in 2022 and 2023.
#CSUN right-handed pitcher Lucas Braun selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 6th round of the 2023 MLB First-Year Player Draft on Monday. #GoMatadorshttps://t.co/0g2HrckZ4c
— CSUN Baseball (@CSUNBaseball) July 10, 2023
RJ Schreck, 277th overall
A fellow LA native, RJ Schreck played for Vanderbilt University as a graduate student after four years at Duke University. The 23-year-old outfielder, who was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the ninth round, slugged 40 home runs and 153 RBIs across his five-year collegiate career. Schreck graduated from the same LA high school as Jewish Braves ace Max Fried.
RJ Schreck is headed to the @Mariners #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/dfnXELb7uD
— Vanderbilt Athletics (@vucommodores) July 10, 2023
Ben Simon, 396th overall
The New Jersey native pitched at Elon University for three years, where he struck out 103 batters across 88.1 innings, mostly as a reliever. Simon, 21, was named to the 2022 All-CAA Second Team for the Colonial Athletic Association conference. He was selected in the 13th round by the New York Mets.
The @Mets have drafted RHP Ben Simon from Elon University with their 13th round pick. pic.twitter.com/4mZJjnALgD
— Mets Player Development (@MetsPlayerDev) July 11, 2023
Will King, 609th overall
One of the final draft picks, New York City native Will King was selected in the final round by the Braves. A catcher, King played three seasons at Eastern Kentucky University, where he hit .306 with 25 home runs and 124 RBI in 145 games. King, 19, was named the First Team All-ASUN Conference catcher his sophomore year and the Second Team catcher his junior year.
𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐃
Congratulations to @EKUBaseball‘s Will King on being drafted by the @Braves! #ASUNBuilt | #GoBigE pic.twitter.com/wByJk9IqtM
— #ASUNBuilt (@ASUNSports) July 11, 2023
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The post These 6 Jewish baseball players were just drafted into the MLB appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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‘With or Without Russia’s Help’: Iran Pledges to Block South Caucasus Route Opened Up By Peace Deal
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque via Reuters Connect.
i24 News – Iran will block the establishment of a US-backed transit corridor in the South Caucasus region with or without Moscow’s help, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader was quoted as saying on Saturday by the Iran International website, one day after the historic peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“Mr. Trump thinks the Caucasus is a piece of real estate he can lease for 99 years,” Ali Akbar Velayati said of the so-called Zangezur corridor, the establishment of which is stipulated in the peace deal unveiled on Friday by US President Donald Trump. The White House said the transit route would facilitate greater exports of energy and other resources.
“This passage will not become a gateway for Trump’s mercenaries — it will become their graveyard,” the Khamenei advisor added.
Baku and Yerevan have been at loggerheads since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous Azerbaijani region mostly populated by ethnic Armenians, broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia. Azerbaijan took back full control of the region in 2023, prompting or forcing almost all of the territory’s 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia.
Yet that painful history was put to the side on Friday at the White House, as Trump oversaw a signing ceremony, flanked by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The peace deal with Azerbaijan—a pro-Western ally of Israel—is expected to pull Armenia out of the Russian and Iranian sphere of influence and could transform the South Caucasus, an energy-producing region neighboring Russia, Europe, Turkey and Iran.
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UK Police Arrest 150 at Protest for Banned Palestine Action Group
People holding signs sit during a rally organised by Defend Our Juries, challenging the British government’s proscription of “Palestine Action” under anti-terrorism laws, in Parliament Square, in London, Britain, August 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
London’s Metropolitan Police said on Saturday it had arrested 150 people at a protest against Britain’s decision to ban the group Palestine Action, adding it was making further arrests.
Officers made arrests after crowds, waving placards expressing support for the group, gathered in Parliament Square, the force said on X.
Protesters, some wearing black and white Palestinian scarves, chanted “shame on you” and “hands off Gaza,” and held signs such as “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action,” video taken by Reuters at the scene showed.
In July, British lawmakers banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes in protest against Britain’s support for Israel.
The ban makes it a crime to be a member of the group, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
The co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, last week won a bid to bring a legal challenge against the ban.
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‘No Leniency’: Iran Announces Arrest of 20 ‘Zionist Agents’
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addresses a special session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
i24 News – Iranian authorities have in recent months arrested 20 people charged with being “Israeli Mossad operatives,” the judiciary said, adding that the Islamic regime will mete out the harshest punishments.
“The judiciary will show no leniency toward spies and agents of the Zionist regime, and with firm rulings, will make an example of them all,” spokesperson Asghar Jahangiri told Iranian media. However, it is understood that an unspecified number of detainees were released, apparently after the charges against them could not be substantiated.
The Islamic Republic was left reeling by a devastating 12-day war with Israel earlier in the summer that left a significant proportion of its military arsenal in ruins and dealt a serious setback to its uranium enrichment program. The fallout included an uptick in executions of Iranians convicted of spying for Israel, with at least eight death sentences carried out in recent months. Hit with international sanctions, the country is in dire economic straights, with frequent energy outages and skyrocketing unemployment.
In recent weeks Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi affirmed that Tehran cannot give up on its nuclear enrichment program even as it was severely damaged during the war.
“It is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe. But obviously we cannot give up of enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists. And now, more than that, it is a question of national pride,” the official told Fox News.