Tigers
select
pitcher
Casey
Mize and
outfielder
Parker
Meadows
in
player
draft
LAKELAND,
FL – The
Detroit
Tigers
selected
righthanded
pitcher
Casey
Mize
from
Auburn
University
with the
first
overall
pick in
the 2018
Major
League
Baseball
First-Year
Player
Draft.
Additionally,
with the
44th
overall
pick,
the
Tigers
selected
outfielder
Parker
Meadows
from
Grayson
High
School
(GA).
In
16
starts
for
Auburn
this
year,
Mize is
10-5
with a
2.95 ERA
(109.2IP/36ER).
The
6-foot-3,
220-pound
junior
has
racked
up 151
strikeouts
with
12.45
strikeouts
per nine
innings
and a
0.81
WHIP,
leading
the
Southeastern
Conference
in all
three
categories.
He also
ranks
second
in the
SEC with
12 walks
allowed
and 0.99
walks
allowed
per nine
innings
this
season.
Mize was
named a
2018
first-team
All-American
by
Baseball
America
and
earned
first-team
All-SEC
honors.
He joins
Gregg
Olson as
the
second
two-time
All-American
in
Auburn
history.
“The
Detroit
Tigers
are
proud to
select
this
young
man with
the
first
overall
pick,”
said
Scott
Pleis,
Tigers
Director
of
Amateur
Scouting.
“Tonight
is a
culmination
of many
years’
worth of
hard
work and
dedication
to the
craft of
pitching.
Casey is
truly a
special
player
with a
phenomenal
arm and
impressive
collegiate
baseball
pedigree,
but
perhaps
most
importantly
has a
top-level
make-up.
“We
project
that his
arsenal
will
play up
at the
Major
League
level –
including
what we
feel are
four
true
‘plus’
pitches.
Casey
has
tremendous
upside,
and his
tools
have the
potential
to take
his
career
to
special
places.
Pitchers
with his
control
and
command
are
extremely
rare,
and
we’re
all
excited
to see
him get
to work
and
begin
his
career
as a
Tiger.”
Over
the last
three
seasons
for the
Auburn
Tigers
(2016-18),
Mize has
posted a
19-12
career
record
with a
2.81 ERA
(262.1IP/82ER),
319
strikeouts,
and only
39 walks
in 45
appearances
(35
starts).
In his
career
at
Auburn,
Mize has
thrown
five
complete
games
and one
shutout
for the
Tigers.
“All
of us in
the
Tigers
organization
are
thrilled
to
select
Casey
with
this
pick,
and are
confident
that he
will
become a
pillar
in our
player
development
system
that’s
going to
bring
winning
baseball
to
Detroit
for
seasons
to
come,”
said Al
Avila,
Tigers
Executive
Vice
President,
Baseball
Operations
and
General
Manager.
“Being a
college
pitcher
–
especially
coming
from the
Southeastern
Conference
– we
know
Casey
has seen
elite
competition
before.
“I’d
like
also
like to
commend
our
scouting
staff
for the
extraordinarily
thorough
job
they’ve
done
canvassing
the
country
over the
last
year in
preparation
for this
pick and
the
others
that
follow.”
A
native
of
Springville,
AL, Mize
played
five
years of
varsity
baseball
at
Springville
High
School,
where
Perfect
Game
ranked
him as
the No.
2
pitcher
in the
state of
Alabama
(No. 4
player
overall)
and a
three-time
All-Area
Selectee.
Mize
posted
an
overall
19-2
record,
going
3-0 with
a 1.83
ERA his
senior
year.
The
Tigers
selected
outfielder
Parker
Meadows
from
Grayson
High
School
(GA)
with the
44th
overall
pick.
Meadows
played
three
varsity
seasons
at
Grayson
High
School
(2015-17)
and was
named a
2018
Rawlings-Perfect
Game
first-team
All-American
(Southeast
- All
Region
first-team).
The
18-year-old
native
of
Loganville,
GA has
played
92 games
and has
posted a
.370
(95x257)
batting
average
with 87
runs
scored,
18
doubles,
eight
triples,
10 home
runs and
64 RBI.
“Parker
Meadows
possesses
the rare
combination
of power
and
speed,”
said
Pleis.
“We
really
like his
athleticism,
his
swing,
and that
he is a
plus-plus
runner.
Parker
is a
great
athlete
with
huge
upside,
and he
comes
from a
baseball
pedigree
with his
brother,
Austin,
who is
now in
the big
leagues.”
The
2018 MLB
First-Year
Player
Draft
continues
tomorrow.
Rounds
3-10
will
kick off
on
Tuesday,
June 5
at 1:05
p.m. and
the
draft
will
conclude
on
Wednesday,
June 6
at 12:05
p.m.
with
Rounds
11-40.
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