These 4 likely 1st-rounders are attending the Draft

May 30th, 2019

Four amateur players are scheduled to attend Major League Baseball’s 2019 Draft, which will be held on Monday at MLB Network’s Studio 42 in Secaucus, N.J., it was announced today.

The four scheduled attendees include third baseman Brett Baty; right-handed pitcher Daniel Espino; right-handed pitcher Brennan Malone; and right-handed pitcher Jackson Rutledge.

BRETT BATY, 3B
Lake Travis H.S. (Texas)
HT: 6-3 WT: 210 B/T: L/R Born: 11/13/99
Hometown: Spicewood, TX
MLB Pipeline ranking
: No. 17

Through 29 games played in his senior season, Baty was hitting .658 (52-for-79) with 16 homers and 44 RBI. He became one of just two high school players to be named to the 2019 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List. As a junior in 2018, Baty was named Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year in Texas after hitting .435 (37-for-85) with 12 home runs, 27 RBIs, 43 runs scored, a .953 slugging percentage, 38 walks and a .622 on-base percentage. In addition, he went 4-0 with a 1.35 ERA on the mound, fanning 38 batters against just 13 walks and 16 hits over 33.1 innings pitched. Baty’s additional accolades include 2019 Perfect Game Preseason All-American; 2019 Perfect Game Preseason Texas All-Region First Team; 2017 and 2018 Perfect Game Preseason Underclassmen All-American; and two-time District 25-6A Most Valuable Player.

DANIEL ESPINO, RHP
Georgia Premier Academy (Georgia)
HT: 6-2 WT: 200 B/T: R/R Born: 1/5/01
Hometown: Statesboro, GA
MLB Pipeline ranking
: No. 23

Espino, who relocated to the United States from Panama when he was 10 years old, went 9-0 on the mound with a 0.32 ERA and 109 strikeouts as a senior this season. Over 44.0 innings pitched, the right-hander permitted just nine walks and 10 hits. He participated in the 2018 Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park in San Diego, as well as the Under Armour All-American Game at Wrigley Field. In addition, he was selected to the 2019 Perfect Game High School Showdown All-Tournament Team. His additional accolades include 2019 Perfect Game Preseason All-American; 2019 Perfect Game Preseason Southeast All-Region First Team; and 2018 Perfect Game Preseason Underclassmen All-American.

BRENNAN MALONE, RHP
IMG Academy (Florida)
HT: 6-3 WT: 203 B/T: R/R Born: 9/8/00
Hometown: Matthews, NC
MLB Pipeline ranking
: No. 20

Brennan went 11-0 this season at IMG, totaling 69 strikeouts with just 14 walks and 23 hits allowed over 51.0 innings pitched. He participated in the 2018 Perfect Game All-American Classic and the 2018 Perfect Game National Showcase, and he was selected to the 2019 Perfect Game High School Showdown All-Tournament Team. As a member of the 2018 18U USA Baseball National Team at the Pan-American Championships, he went 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA and nine strikeouts across 8.1 innings to help Team USA to the gold medal. As a junior at Porter Ridge High School, he compiled a 1.36 ERA with 76 strikeouts over 51.1 innings pitched. His additional accolades include 2019 Perfect Game Preseason All-American; 2019 Perfect Game Preseason Atlantic All-Region First Team; 2017 and 2018 Perfect Game Preseason Underclassmen All-American; and 2018 Southwestern 4A conference pitcher of the year.

JACKSON RUTLEDGE, RHP
San Jacinto Junior College (Texas)
HT: 6-8 WT: 240 B/T: R/R Born: 4/1/99
Hometown: St. Louis, MO
MLB Pipeline ranking
: No. 12

In 13 starts this season at San Jacinto, Jackson went 9-2 with four complete games, a 0.87 ERA, 134 strikeouts, 30 walks and 42 hits over 82.2 innings pitched. His 0.87 ERA ranked first across the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), while his 134 strikeouts ranked second. As a freshman at the University of Arkansas in 2018, he went 3-0 with a 3.45 ERA, 14 strikeouts, 11 walks and 13 hits across 15.2 innings pitched. Following his high school senior season in 2017, Jackson was named the Prep Baseball Report Player of the Year after going 7-1 with a 1.19 ERA and 84 strikeouts over 41.0 innings pitched. Rutledge attended the 2016 Perfect Game National Showcase and was selected to play for the White Sox in the 2016 Area Code Games.

A total of 43 amateur players all-time have attended the Draft. Among last year’s attendees was the number three overall choice, third baseman Alec Bohm of the Philadelphia Phillies organization; the eighth overall selection, pitcher Carter Stewart; the 10th overall selection, outfielder Travis Swaggerty of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization; the 23rd overall selection, catcher Anthony Seigler of the New York Yankees organization; the 26th overall selection, third baseman Triston Casas of the Boston Red Sox organization; and the 38th overall selection, shortstop Xavier Edwards of the San Diego Padres organization. Attendees in previous years have included two-time American League Most Valuable Player, seven-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 and two-time All-Star Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees (2013); Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson (2013); and Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks (2008).

As part of MLB Network’s telecast of the Draft on Monday, Pat Casey, former head coach of the Oregon State Baseball team, will appear as an in-studio guest analyst beginning with the Draft preview show at 6:00 p.m. ET. Casey, the winningest coach in Oregon State history, retired in September 2018 after coaching 31 seasons in collegiate baseball, including the last 24 at Oregon State, where he amassed 900 career wins with the last coming in the final game of the 2018 College World Series as the Beavers won their third national championship. Casey coached 21 players who have appeared at the Major League level, and he recruited and coached current Beavers catcher and MLB Pipeline’s #1 Draft prospect Adley Rutschman.

The decorated list of baseball personnel scheduled to attend the 2019 Draft includes Hall of Famer, 10-time All-Star, five-time Cy Young award winner, 2001 World Series MVP and 2002 pitching Triple Crown winner Randy Johnson; Hall of Famer, 10-time All-Star and 1984 National League MVP Ryne Sandberg; 2019 Hall of Fame inductee and seven-time All-Star Lee Smith; two-time All-Star and 1976 NL Cy Young Award winner Randy Jones; 1974 NL Batting Champion Ralph Garr; and six-time All-Star and 1981 World Series MVP Ron Cey.

Other former All-Stars who will represent the Clubs are (alphabetically): Carlos Baerga (CLE); Tom Browning (CIN); Ken “Hawk” Harrelson (CWS); Brandon Inge (DET); Jason Isringhausen (STL); Grant Jackson (PIT); Charles Johnson (MIA); Jim Kaat (MIN); Shane Reynolds (HOU); Brian Roberts (BAL); Reggie Sanders (KC); and Nick Swisher (NYY). Former first round draft picks among the group include Tommy Greene (14th overall pick by PHI in 1985), Chad Hermansen (representing LAA; 10th overall pick by PIT in 1995), Johnson (28th overall pick by FLA in 1992), Bill Swift (2nd overall pick by SEA in 1984), Swisher (16th overall pick by OAK in 2002) and B.J. Upton (2nd overall pick by TB in 2002). Other attendees include New York Yankees amateur scout Kelly Rodman, who will join Swisher at the Yankees table; 2003 World Series-winning manager Jack McKeon, who will represent the Washington Nationals in his role as Senior Advisor to the President of Baseball Operations and General Manager; and World Series Champion Art Shamsky, who will represent the Mets in their 50th anniversary season of the 1969 ‘Miracle Mets.’

The Draft will begin live on MLB Network and MLB.com on Monday, June 3 at 7:00 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 2019 Draft will span three days, as it has since 2009. For day one on June 3rd, the first 41 selections, through Competitive Balance Round A, will air exclusively on MLB Network and MLB.com. Beginning with the first pick in Round 2 and continuing through overall pick number 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 three to 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 4, when selections will be made for rounds 3-10, with one-minute intervals between selections. Day three of the Draft on Wednesday, June 5th 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 history, the Orioles will have the first overall selection of the Draft. Previously, Baltimore drafted right-handed pitcher Ben McDonald with the top overall selection in 1989. The Arizona Diamondbacks (16th, 26th, 33rd, 34th, 56th, 74th, 75th) have a Major League-best seven selections within the first 78 picks during the first day of the Draft. The Pittsburgh Pirates (18th, 37th, 57th, 72nd) and the Tampa Bay Rays (22nd, 36th, 40th, 61st) will each make four selections on the Draft’s opening day.

Beginning with the Draft preview show on Monday, also simulcast on MLB.com, MLB Network’s Greg Amsinger, Kelly Nash, Dan O’Dowd, Harold Reynolds and MLB Pipeline’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 Martínez, John Smoltz and Jim Thome, plus Eric Byrnes, Sean Casey, Mark DeRosa, Cliff Floyd, Joe Girardi, Al Leiter, Mike Lowell, Kevin Millar, Carlos Peña, Dan Plesac and Bill Ripken, as well as MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis and Carlos Collazo of Baseball America. MLB Network will also feature exclusive content with the newly drafted players in attendance across its social media platforms. Fans will be able to decide the content that appears on MLB Network’s Instagram Story during Draft night by allowing Instagram users to tell @MLBNetwork what they would like to see behind the scenes and from the Draft floor.

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 4, 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 Draft Tracker, a live interactive application that includes a searchable database of hundreds of 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 Grant Paulsen and former MLB general managers Jim Duquette and Jim Bowden will host Monday, June 3 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.