The Oakland A's selected outfielder Austin Beck from North Davidson (N.C.) High School with the sixth selection in the first round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft, the club announced today.
Beck hit .590 with 12 home runs and 38 RBI in 28 games as a senior. He also notched 11 doubles and scored 41 runs. He finished his four-year high school career with a .457 batting average and 23 home runs in 103 games.
This is the second straight season the A's have had the sixth overall pick in the draft. Prior to 2016, the A's had not picked in the top six since 1998, when they selected Mark Mulder with the second overall pick.  
This is the third time in the last six years the A's have selected a high school player with their top pick (Addison Russell, 2012; Billy McKinney, 2013). It also marks the first time the A's have selected a high school player this high in the draft since Ben Grieve was selected with the second overall pick in 1994. It's just the fourth time in the last 21 years the A's have chosen a high school player with their top pick.
Oakland has two more picks tonight, including the third selection in Lottery Round A (33rd pick overall) and their second round pick (43rd selection overall). The draft resumes Tuesday at 10 a.m. PT with rounds three through 10 and concludes Wednesday at 9 a.m. PT with rounds 11 through 40.