SEC Baseball leads the way at MLB Draft

Just like the NFL Draft in April, last week’s MLB Draft had a lot of SEC flavor to it.

SEC baseball is on a tear this season. The Southeastern Conference got eight teams in the NCAA regionals, most in the nation. They got six teams in super regionals, most in the nation. They got three teams in the College World Series, most in the nation. And they also had eight first round picks in the MLB Draft, which, you guessed it, was the most in the nation.

The Pac-12 was second with six first-round picks. Here are the eight SEC baseball players drafted in the first round of this year’s MLB Draft.

5. Atlanta Braves – RHP Kyle Wright, Vanderbilt

Wright was the top SEC player drafted in the MLB Draft, and just the latest in a long line of Commodores’ pitchers to be selected in the first round. Wright had a 5-6 record this season with a 3.40 ERA, which aren’t eye-popping numbers, but his 121 strikeouts in 103 innings show that he has the type of swing-and-miss stuff that pro scouts love.

16. New York Yankees – RHP Clarke Schmidt, South Carolina

Schmidt only started nine games this season, but he put up absolutely ridiculous numbers. He went 4-2 this season, and his 1.34 ERA was by far the best mark in the SEC. In 60 1/3 innings this season, he recorded 70 strikeouts and 18 walks.

17. Seattle Mariners – 1B Evan White, Kentucky

White helped lead the vaunted Wildcats’ offense this season. His .373 batting average and .637 slugging percentage each ranked in the top three in the conference. He hit 10 home runs and 41 RBI in 53 games this season.

18. Detroit Tigers – RHP Alex Faedo, Florida

Faedo may have had the most eye-popping pitching statistics in the SEC this season. He led the conference with 135 strikeouts, and his 2.55 ERA was fourth-best among starting pitchers. And while 135 strikeouts is impressive in its’ own right, doing so in 68 innings is big-league stuff. He averaged 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings in his three years in Gainesvile.

23. Los Angeles Dodgers – OF Jeren Kendall, Vanderbilt

Kendall earned first-team All-SEC honors this season after hitting .307 with 15 home runs and 53 RBI this season. He also led the SEC with 20 stolen bases on 24 attempts. In his three years in Nashville, he had a .309 average and stole 67 bases.

24. Boston Red Sox – RHP Tanner Houck, Missouri

Despite having just a 4-7 record, Houck had a 3.33 ERA and struck out 95 in in 94 2/3 innings. In his three years in Columbia, Houck posted a 4.63 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

30. Chicago Cubs – RHP Alex Lange, LSU

Lange has been a model of consistency in his career in Baton Rouge. In his three years, he went 29-9 with a 2.88 ERA while averaging 10.42 strikeouts per nine. This season, he went 9-5 with a 2.92 ERA while striking out 134 and walking 40 in 111 innings, earning first-team All-SEC honors.

35. Minnesota Twins – OF Brent Rooker, Mississippi State

Rooker, the 2017 SEC Player of the Year, won the SEC triple crown this season. His .387 batting average, 23 home runs, and 82 RBI each led the SEC. He also led the conference with 30 doubles and an .810 slugging percentage, and was tied for second in the conference with 18 stolen bases.

In total, the SEC had 75 players taken in the 2017 MLB Draft. Now it’s time to see if SEC baseball teams can match that success at the College World Series in Omaha this week.

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