3 top-50 Draft picks Golden Spikes finalists
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USA Baseball on Monday announced Kyle Lewis (Mercer), Corey Ray (Louisville), Logan Shore (Florida) and Seth Beer (Clemson) as the four finalists for the 2016 Golden Spikes Award sponsored by Major League Baseball and presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation.
The Golden Spikes Award, which will be presented live on "SportsCenter" on June 30, honors the best amateur baseball player in the United States.
All three Draft-eligible finalists -- Lewis, Ray and Shore -- were picked in the first 50 selections of the 2016 MLB Draft on Thursday.
Taken 11th overall by the Seattle Mariners, Lewis was named the College Player of the Year by Baseball America. The Southern Conference Player of the Year hit .395 with 20 home runs on his way to winning the award for the second consecutive season. He managed to rack up 27 multihit games and had a 48-game on-base streak during his junior season.
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Ray, who earned All-ACC first team honors for the second straight year, was selected fifth overall by the Milwaukee Brewers. Ray finished second in the country with 44 stolen bases and started all 62 games for Louisville, hitting .310 with 15 homers and 60 RBIs.
The Oakland Athletics picked Shore, the 2016 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Pitcher of the Year, with the 47th overall selection. Shore completed his junior season with a perfect 12-0 record for a Gators team that was ranked No. 1 in the nation for a majority of the year. He compiled 89 strikeouts in 100 1/3 innings to go along with a 2.24 ERA. He also set a school record with 17 straight victories.
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Beer, the only finalist not eligible for the MLB Draft, became the first freshman to win the ACC Player of the Year Award. His .369 batting average, 18 home runs and 70 RBIs paced the Tigers' offense in 2016. Beer had a 26-game hitting streak and ended the year with a 60-game on-base streak. He will play for USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team this summer.
Fans can follow the running for the Golden Spikes Award by visiting GoldenSpikesAward.com.