Six amateur players to attend 2018 MLB Draft
Six amateur players are scheduled to attend Major League Baseball's 2018 Draft, which will be held on Monday, June 4th at MLB Network's Studio 42 in Secaucus, New Jersey, it was announced today.
The six scheduled attendees include third baseman Alec Bohm; first baseman Triston Casas; shortstop Xavier Edwards; catcher Anthony Siegler; right-handed pitcher Carter Stewart; and outfielder Travis Swaggerty.
ALEC BOHM, 3B, Wichita State University
HT: 6-5
WT: 220
B/T: R/R
Born: 8/3/96
Hometown: Omaha, NE
In 57 games played this season, Alec hit .339 (76-for-224) with 16 home runs, 55 RBI, 14 doubles, 57 runs scored, nine stolen bases, a .436 on-base percentage and a .625 slugging percentage. He played for the Falmouth Commodores in the Cape Cod League last summer and was named an All-Star after batting .351 with five homers, 28 RBI and 10 doubles. Bohm started in 58 games during his sophomore season in 2017, batting .305 with 11 home runs, 40 RBI, 44 runs scored, 71 hits, 13 doubles, two triples and five stolen bases. He was selected First Team All-Missouri Valley following the season one year after being named Second Team All-Missouri Valley in 2016 following his freshman season. In 2016, Alec was also named a Collegiate Baseball First Team Freshman All-American after hitting .303 with six home runs, 30 RBI, 20 runs scored, 54 hits, 13 doubles and one triple.
TRISTON CASAS, 1B, American Heritage School (Florida)
HT: 6-4
WT: 238
B/T: L/R
Born: 1/15/00
Hometown: Pembroke Pines, FL
Prior to the 2018 season, Triston was named First Team All-American and Florida All-Region First Team by Rawlings-Perfect Game. In addition, he was selected 2017 Underclass First Team and 2016 Underclass Third Team by Rawlings-Perfect Game. Through 28 games played this season, he was batting .387 (29-for-75) with seven home runs, 34 RBI, six doubles, five triples and 30 runs scored. On the mound, he had made seven appearances without surrendering an earned run to go along with two saves and 19 strikeouts over 9.0 innings pitched. As a junior, he slashed .446/.559/.702 with four home runs, 18 RBI, five doubles, 33 hits and 22 runs scored. Following the season, he was selected to play in the Under Armour All-American Game for a second consecutive year. At 16 years old, Triston was the youngest player on the Team USA 18U National Team. He hit .333 with a pair of home runs and 11 RBI, while also pitching 3.0 innings in the tournament. During the summer of 2015, Casas hit .429 with two home runs and 10 RBI to lead USA Baseball's 15U team to a championship.
XAVIER EDWARDS, SS, North Broward Prep H.S. (Florida)
HT: 5-10
WT: 155
B/T: S/R
Born: 8/9/99
Hometown: Wellington, FL
Xavier joins Triston as a 2018 Rawlings-Perfect Game First Team All-American and Florida All-Region First Team. Additionally, he was selected 2017 Underclass First Team, 2016 Underclass Third Team and 2015 Underclass High Honorable Mention. Through 80 at-bats this season, he had slashed .434/.550/.658 with a home run, 14 RBI, 33 hits, four doubles, five triples, 35 runs scored and 20 stolen bases. As a junior, Edwards batted .425 (34-for-80) with a home run, 10 RBI, four doubles, two triples, 34 runs scored and 14 stolen bases. Xavier also participated in the 2017 Area Code Games and the Perfect Game All-American Classic.
ANTHONY SEIGLER, C, Cartersville H.S. (Georgia)
HT: 6-0
WT: 190
B/T: S/S
Born: 6/20/99
Hometown: Cartersville, GA
Anthony has been named 2018 First Team All-American and Southeast All-Region First Team; 2017 Underclass First Team; and 2016 Underclass High Honorable Mention by Rawlings-Perfect Game. Seigler hit .421 this season with 16 stolen bases and 16 extra-base hits, including 13 home runs, to lead Cartersville to the Georgia AAAA State Championship. As an ambidextrous pitcher, he compiled a 1.09 ERA and 29 strikeouts over 25.2 innings pitched. Behind the plate, he threw out 12 of 21 baserunners attempting to steal. In 2017, he helped his team to the state semifinals, finishing with a 9-3 record and a 2.12 ERA over 62.2 innings pitched. In addition, he hit .283 with a .437 on-base percentage, 27 runs scored and 19 RBI at the plate. Anthony was selected to USA Baseball's 18U National Team Trials roster and was chosen by Pefect Game for the East roster of the 2017 All-American Classic.
CARTER STEWART, RHP, Eau Gallie H.S. (Florida)
HT: 6-6
WT: 200
B/T: R/R
Born: 11/2/99
Hometown: Melbourne, FL
Carter was named First Team All-American and Florida All-Region First Team by Rawlings-Perfect Game prior to the 2018 season, following his Underclass First Team selection in 2017. Through 11 appearances on the mound this season, he was 6-4 with 128 strikeouts and a 0.91 ERA over 62.1 innings of work. At the plate, he was batting .313 with seven home runs and 22 RBI through 64 at-bats. During his junior season, Carter compiled an 11-2 record with a 0.81 ERA and 104 strikeouts over 69.1 innings pitched. Additionally, he slashed .313/.357/.563 at the plate with four home runs, 22 RBI, 20 hits and four doubles. Stewart was selected to play in the 2017 Tournament of Stars, as well as the Perfect Game All-American Classic.
TRAVIS SWAGGERTY, OF, University of South Alabama
HT: 5-11
WT: 180
B/T: L/L
Born: 8/19/97
Hometown: Mandeville, LA
Prior to his junior season this year, Travis was named a First Team All-American by Baseball America, D1Baseball, NCBWA and Perfect Game. Additionally, he was selected Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year, All-Sun Belt Conference and was named to the Preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List. In 57 games played this season, Swaggerty hit .296 (63-for-213) with 13 home runs, 38 RBI, 10 doubles, 57 runs scored, nine stolen bases, a .455 on-base percentage and a .526 slugging percentage. As a sophomore in 2017, he led the Sun Belt in on-base percentage (.484), runs scored (55) and RBI (60), while ranking second in batting average (.356). He appeared in 19 games for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, ranking second on the team in hits (21) and on-base percentage (.449) and helping the team to a 15-5 mark. During his freshman season in 2016, he posted a .422 slugging percentage and a .432 on-base percentage en route to being named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American. In addition, he led South Alabama with a .303 batting average, while also recording four home runs, 27 RBI, 12 doubles, one triple, 47 runs scored and 20 stolen bases in 59 games.
A total of 37 amateur players all-time have attended the Draft. Among last year's attendees was the number two overall choice, pitcher Hunter Greene of the Cincinnati Reds organization; the number 10 overall selection, outfielder Jo Adell of the Los Angeles Angels organization; the number 13 overall selection, pitcher Trevor Rogers of the Miami Marlins organization; and the number 26 overall selection, outfielder Bubba Thompson of the Texas Rangers organization. Attendees in previous years have included two-time American League Most Valuable Player, six-time All-Star and 2012 AL Rookie of the Year Mike Trout of the Angels (2009); 2015 AL Rookie of the Year and 2012 number one overall selection Carlos Correa of the Houston Astros; 2016 AL Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees (2013); Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson (2013); and Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks (2008).
The decorated list of baseball personnel scheduled to attend the 2018 Draft include Hall of Famer, eight-time All-Star, 1977 National League Rookie of the Year and 1987 NL Most Valuable Player Andre Dawson; Hall of Famer, seven-time All-Star and 1981 American League MVP and Cy Young Award winner Rollie Fingers; Hall of Fame manager and two-time NL Manager of the Year Tommy Lasorda; 1989 All-Star sensation and multi-sport star Bo Jackson; 1988 NL MVP and 2011 NL Manager of the Year Kirk Gibson; nine-time All-Star, 1975 AL MVP and Rookie of the Year and 1979 AL batting champion Fred Lynn; and seven-time All-Star and two-time NL MVP Dale Murphy.
Other former All-Stars who will represent the Clubs are (alphabetically): Bob Boone (WSH); Larry Bowa (PHI); Adam Dunn (CIN); Brian Fuentes (COL); Ralph Garr (ATL); Geoff Jenkins (MIL); Mike Moore (SEA); Mickey Morandini (PHI); Joe Nathan (MIN); Gregg Olson (BAL); A.J. Pierzynski (CWS); Aaron Rowand (CWS); Junior Spivey (ARI); Nick Swisher (NYY); Ryan Vogelsong (SF); and Duane Ward (TOR). Additional representatives include World Series champions Tim Salmon (LAA), Juan Pierre (MIA) and Mookie Wilson (NYM); former Major Leaguer Tony Gwynn Jr. (SD), the son of Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn; and long-time Tampa Bay Rays baseball operations employee Sandy Dengler, who is in her 41st season in professional baseball. Sandy, who represents the Rays in their 20th anniversary season after joining the Club in December 1997, will become the first-ever female Club representative at the Draft.
The Draft will begin live on MLB Network and MLB.com on Monday, June 4th at 7:00 p.m. (ET). Prior to the start of the Draft, MLB Network will air a Draft preview show, also simulcast on MLB.com, at 6:00 p.m. (ET). The Draft will have 40 rounds, and a Club may pass on its selection in any round and not forfeit its right to participate in other rounds. The 2018 Draft will span three days as it has since 2009. For day one on June 4th, Round 1 (picks 1-30), First Round Compensation (picks 31-35) and Competitive Balance Round A (picks 36-43) will air exclusively on MLB Network and MLB.com. Beginning with the first pick in Round 2 and continuing through Competitive Balance Round B (picks 69-74) and Second Round Compensation (picks 75-78), the Draft will air live exclusively on MLB.com, while MLB Network will continue to provide live look-ins and coverage of the Draft on MLB Tonight. The intervals between selections during round one will last four minutes, followed by one-minute intervals between selections for the remainder of day one.
The Draft will resume at 1:00 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, June 5th, when selections will be made for rounds 3-10, with one minute intervals between selections. Day three of the Draft on Wednesday, June 6th will begin at 12:00 p.m. (ET), featuring picks in rounds 11-40, with no time delay between selections.
The selection order of the Draft is determined by the reverse order of finish at the close of the previous championship season. For just the second time in team history, the Detroit Tigers will have the first overall selection of the Draft. Previously, Detroit drafted right-handed pitcher Matt Anderson with the top overall selection in 1997. The Tampa Bay Rays (16th, 31st, 32nd, 56th, 71st) and the Kansas City Royals (18th, 33rd, 34th, 40th, 58th) each have a Major League-best five selections within the first 78 picks during the first day of the Draft. The Chicago Cubs (24th, 62nd, 77th, 78th) and the Cleveland Indians (29th, 35th, 41st, 67th) will each make four selections on the Draft's opening day.
Beginning with the Draft preview show on Monday, June 4th at 6:00 p.m. ET, MLB Network's Greg Amsinger, Peter Gammons, Dan O'Dowd, Harold Reynolds and MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo will anchor live coverage featuring news, analysis, interviews with Club front office personnel and representatives, footage from Club draft rooms, and features and interviews with prospects and newly drafted players. Coverage will also include contributions from MLB Network analysts including Hall of Famers Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Jim Thome, plus Sean Casey, Ron Darling, Ryan Dempster, Mark DeRosa, Cliff Floyd, Joe Girardi, Al Leiter, Mike Lowell, Carlos Peña, Dan Plesac, and Bill Ripken, as well as Jim Callis of MLB.com and Carlos Collazo of Baseball America.
Fans can visit MLB.com for exclusive live programming of the Draft's final two days with a live draft show at 12:30 p.m. (ET) on June 5th, also taking place at MLB Network's studios, followed by a live pick-by-pick stream and draft and scouting expert commentary from Mayo, Callis and former Major League general manager Jim Duquette. On the site, fans also can follow every pick with It Draft Tracker, a live interactive application that includes a searchable database of more than 1,500 draft-eligible players with statistics, scouting reports and video highlights. On Twitter, the official Draft Twitter account, @MLBDraft, will provide up-to-the-moment updates and commentary using the official Draft hashtag, #MLBDraft, while @MLBDraftTracker will tweet all picks as they are made.
The MLB Network Radio channel on SiriusXM will also offer live MLB Draft coverage to listeners nationwide. SiriusXM's Mike Ferrin and former MLB general managers Jim Duquette and Jim Bowden will host Monday, June 4th starting at 6:00 p.m. (ET) and will provide live pick-by-pick analysis throughout the first round on Sirius channel 209, XM channel 89 and with your phone on the SiriusXM App.