The Tampa Bay Rays tonight selected the following five players in the 2018 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
MATTHEW LIBERATORE LEFT-HANDED PITCHER ROUND 1 - NO. 16 OVERALL
B/T L/L HT/WT 6-5/200 BORN. 11/6/1999 SCHOOL Mountain Ridge (Ariz.) HS

SHANE McCLANAHAN LEFT-HANDED PITCHER ROUND 1 - NO. 31 OVERALL
B/T L/L HT/WT 6-1/190 BORN. 4/28/1997 SCHOOL Univ. of South Florida

NICK SCHNELL CENTER FIELDER ROUND 1 - NO. 32 OVERALL
B/T L/R HT/WT 6-3/180 BORN. 3/27/2000 SCHOOL Roncalli (Ind.) HS

TYLER FRANK SHORTSTOP ROUND 2 - NO. 56 OVERALL
B/T R/R HT/WT 6-0/185 BORN. 1/15/1997 SCHOOL Florida Atlantic Univ.

TANNER DODSON CENTER FIELDER | RIGHT-HANDED PITCHER ROUND B - NO. 71 OVERALL
B/T S/R HT/WT 6-1/160 BORN. 5/9/1997 SCHOOL Univ. of California

• Is one of three finalists for collegiate baseball's John Olerud Award, which is given to the nation's top two-way player…other finalists are Stetson's Brooks Wilson and Georgia's Aaron Schunk…Louisville's Brendan McKay won the John Olerud Award in each of the previous three seasons.
• Hit .320 (73-for-228) with 12 2B, 1 HR, 27 RBI and 12 SB in 54 games (all starts) at the plate…went 2-1 with a 2.48 ERA (40-IP, 11-ER) in 19 relief apps…finished with 11 saves, 3rd-most in the Pac-12 and a single-season program record…made 1 error and finished with a .993 fielding pct.
• Ranked as the No. 62 overall player in this year's draft by Baseball America…named second team All-American by Baseball America in 2018.
• His father, Bo, was a 3rd-round selection of the Brewers in 1989 and played 10 seasons in the minor leagues.
• Previously selected by the New York Mets in the 31st round of the 2015 June Draft.