Tigers select Auburn's Mize with No. 1 pick
SECAUCUS, N.J. — Casey Mize went from undrafted three years ago all the way to No. 1.
The Detroit Tigers selected the Auburn right-hander with the first pick in the Major League Baseball draft Monday night. The announcement at MLB Network studios marked the second time the Tigers led off the draft, and first since they took Rice pitcher Matt Anderson in 1997.
South Alabama outfielder Travis Swaggerty went to Pittsburgh with the 10th pick. He hit .296 with 13 homers, 38 RBIs and a whopping 54 walks for the Jaguars this season.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Mize had long been linked to the Tigers, and he pitched his way this season to the top spot on the board. Mize wasn’t chosen by any organization out of high school three years ago, but developed into a potential big league ace while in college.
“It means a ton,” he said in an interview on MLB Network’s broadcast. “I’m very thankful that the Tigers thought of me enough to take me with their first selection. I can’t describe this feeling right now.”
Mize is 10-5 with a 2.95 ERA and 151 strikeouts with just 12 walks in 109 2/3 innings while helping the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament super regionals.
Mize became the seventh player to go from undrafted in high school to the No. 1 pick, and first since Stephen Strasburg went to the Washington Nationals in 2009.
With the second selection, San Francisco took slugging Georgia Tech catcher Joey Bart, the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year.
Wichita State third baseman Alec Bohm was the first of six players attending the draft to be selected, going third overall to Philadelphia.
Oregon State second baseman Nick Madrigal — at 5-foot-7, 160 pounds — went fourth to the Chicago White Sox.
Rounding out the top five was Cincinnati, which took Florida third baseman Jonathan India.
Oakland created a major buzz at No. 9 and shook up some draft boards by tabbing speedy Oklahoma outfielder — and quarterback — Kyler Murray, the favorite to replace Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield this season as the Sooners’ starter on the football field.
