Rockies Select Right-Handed Pitcher Jonathan Gray with 3rd Overall Pick in the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft
DENVER - With the 3rd overall pick of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft tonight, the Colorado Rockies selected right-handed pitcher Jonathan Gray from the University of Oklahoma. Gray was rated the 1st overall player in the draft by Baseball America and the 2nd overall player in the draft by MLB.com.
"Jonathan has a power arm and he is a great competitor," said Rockies Vice President of Scouting Bill Schmidt. "Jonathan is a good kid who we feel he has a chance to be a quality starting Major League pitcher."
Gray, 21, was a unanimous selection to the All-Big 12 First-team in 2013. He was also a Second-Team member of the Louisville Slugger All-America team. In 16 starts for the Sooners thus far in 2013, Gray has gone 10-2 with a 1.59 ERA (119.0 ip, 21 er), 22 walks, 138 strikeouts and a .188 opponent's batting average. He has four complete games, two of which are complete game shutouts. Gray's Sooners were the 2013 Big 12 Tournament Champions and are playing Louisiana State in a Super Regional beginning tomorrow for a chance to go to the 2013 College World Series.
Gray (6-foot-4, 239 pounds) was rated as having the best fastball in the draft by Baseball America. Gray's 138 strikeouts are the 2nd-most NCAA Division I, while his 0.84 WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) was the 4th-lowest mark in the nation.
A native of Shawnee, OK, Gray was previously selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 13th round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft and by the New York Yankees in the 10th round of the 2011 draft. He attended Eastern Oklahoma State College (Junior College) in 2011, where he posted a 6-2 record with a 2.89 ERA and 61 strikeouts prior to transferring to Oklahoma for the 2012 season. The right-hander went 8-4 with a 3.16 ERA (102.2 ip, 36 er), 42 walks and 104 strikeouts in 18 starts for the Sooners in 2012.
The Rockies have two more selections tonight, the 42nd overall selection, which comes in the 2nd round, and the 70th overall selection, which comes in Competitive Balance Round B.