LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers continued their raid of the Vanderbilt pitching staff by selecting right-hander Jordan Sheffield with the 36th overall pick Thursday in the 2016 Draft.
The Dodgers received the pick for not signing No. 35 pick Kyle Funkhouser last year. The assigned value for the 36th pick is $1,791,000. Last year, the Dodgers drafted Sheffield's Vanderbilt pitching teammates Walker Buehler (first round) and Phillip Pfeifer (third round).
Also on Thursday, the Dodgers selected Wisconsin high school shortstop Gavin Lux with the 20th overall pick, University of Louisville catcher Will Smith with the 32nd overall pick and Santa Clara right-handed pitcher Mitchell White with the 65th overall pick.
• 20th overall: Gavin Lux
• 32nd overall: Will Smith
• 65th overall: Mitchell White
The Draft continues Friday with Rounds 3-10. The MLB.com preview show begins at 9:30 a.m. PT, with exclusive coverage of Rounds 3-10 beginning at 10 a.m. PT.
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Sheffield, 21, is 6 feet tall and 185 pounds. He had Tommy John surgery in high school but has been clocked as high as 98 mph pitching in the SEC. White also is a survivor of Tommy John surgery.
"In today's world, who doesn't have Tommy John?" scouting director Billy Gasparino said. "It makes us feel better if he's been pitching a year with success and shows high-end stuff. A lot of studies give a shelf life up to 10 years [after surgery]. Get them in year one or two after and you feel better. It's not a strategy seeking them out, but we're dealing with it a lot because of how many are out there."
Sheffield's brother, Justus, was a first-round pick of the Indians in 2014. The Red Sox selected Jordan Sheffield out of high school in the 13th round, but he turned them down to attend Vanderbilt, where he redshirted in 2014 while recovering from the surgery. Sheffield returned last year to play a key swingman role as the Commodores finished second at the College World Series, then he showed the best pure stuff in the Cape Cod League during the summer.
"There was a little extra fist pump in the room" when Sheffield was still on the board, Gasparino said.
"He pitched extremely well this year. He's super athletic, a former standout high school football player who we thought was one of the better athletes in the Draft, at any position really. He threw up to 96, big-arm strength. His changeup is developing into a plus pitch. His breaking ball was always a calling card for him. His command and control numbers dramtically improved. He's a highly competitive kid."
According to MLBPipeline.com, "of all the pitching prospects in the 2016 Draft, Sheffield may have the best chance to develop three plus offerings. His fastball can sit at 94-96 mph and reach 98, and he has maintained his velocity in the late innings of his starts. He had a 32-inning streak without allowing an earned run this spring."