The Tampa Bay Rays have selected right-handed pitcher Nick Bitsko from Central Bucks East (Penn.) High School with the No. 24 pick in the first round of the 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Bitsko, 17, went a combined 4-2 with a 1.27 ERA (33-IP, 6-ER) and 68 strikeouts over his freshman and sophomore high school seasons, and entered the 2020 season as Pennsylvania’s reigning Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year and a Perfect Game preseason All-American. He was ranked among the Top 20 overall players in this year’s draft by several publications: No. 14 by MLB.com, No. 15 by ESPN.com, No. 16 by FanGraphs, No. 18 by The Athletic and No. 19 by Baseball America. In January, he announced his decision to graduate from high school early, making him eligible for this year’s June Draft. His final high school season was scheduled to begin in April but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of his reclassification, he was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 1 prospect in their 2021 high school draft rankings.

Bitsko attended the East Coast Pro showcase last summer, one of the premier annual showcases for high school prospects, and spent time with the USA National Team Development Program in each of the last two seasons. He becomes the sixth high school pitcher selected by the Rays in the first round, following Jason Standridge (No. 31) in 1997, Taylor Guerrieri (No. 24) in 2011, Blake Snell (No. 52) in 2011, Matthew Liberatore (No. 16) in 2018 and JJ Goss (No. 36) in 2019. He is committed to play college baseball next season at the University of Virginia. According to MLB.com, Bitsko has volunteered with the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation and has completed multiple service-mission trips to the Dominican Republic.