Fraley taken with final selection of Day One
By JAMES MORAN
Tiger Rag Associate Editor
Two players with LSU ties, one current and the other a highly-touted signee, were selected on the first night of the MLB Draft on Thursday.
Paul Mainieri and staff believe both players will sign professionally and begin their climb toward the big leagues.
The first was Riley Pint, a flame throwing right-hander out of St. Thomas Aquinas (Ks.), who went fourth overall to the Colorado Rockies. According to MLB.com, the slot value of that pick is $5,258,700.
LSU’s staff all but ruled out any hope of Pint showing up on campus months ago. He’s got a fastball that’s been registered at triple-digits and what scouts are calling a plus slider. He was ranked as the No. 2 prospect in Baseball America’s Top 500.
Jake Fraley’s wait lasted hours later into the night, but the centerfielder came off the board in the second round at No. 77 overall – the final selection of the night — to the Tampa Bay Rays. The slot value of that pick, according to MLB.com, is $826,200. The staff also expects him to sign.
Baseball America rated Fraley at No. 66 in its Top 500. There he’ll join former Tiger outfielder Mikie Mahtook, who was drafted No. 31 overall back in 2011 and currently plays for the Rays.
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