Baltimore Orioles Select Grayson Rodriguez With First Round Draft Pick
The Baltimore Orioles had the 11th overall pick in the 2018 MLB draft. With that pick, Baltimore selected Grayson Rodriguez. Rodriguez is coming out of Central Heights High School in Texas. He will be a right handed pitcher in the orioles organization with a starting salary of $4.3 million.
Nobody in the Baltimore Orioles pitching staff at this point in time has a ERA under four. Hopefully for the Orioles, Rodriguez will be able to help them in the future. Rodriguez has a fastball that clocks from 92-96mph. He also has a splitter,changeup,and a breaking ball which he has command of.
Here is the Orioles press release.
ORIOLES SELECT RHP GRAYSON RODRIGUEZ IN FIRST ROUND
OF 2018 FIRST-YEAR PLAYER DRAFT
The Orioles tonight selected RHP GRAYSON RODRIGUEZ from Central Heights (TX) High School with their first selection as the 11th overall pick of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft. The Orioles also selected INF CADYN GRENIER at No. 37 overall from Oregon State University.
Grayson Rodriguez, 18, a right-handed pitcher from Central Heights (TX) High School was named a 2018 Rawlings-Perfect Game First Team Senior Preseason All-American and to the Texas – All Region First Team. As a junior, he helped lead Central Heights (Nacogdoches) to the Texas 3A State title. Rodriguez went 14-1 with a 0.38 ERA and 178 strikeouts and was named the Texas Sports Writer’s Association (TSWA) Player of the Year. He was also named a Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason Underclass All-American in 2017. As a sophomore, Rodriguez was named a First Team Pitcher on the TSWA All-State Team. Additionally, he was named a Rawlings-Perfect Game High Underclass All-American in 2016. He was ranked as the No. 14 overall pitching prospect and the No. 24 overall draft prospect in Baseball America’s Top 200 Prospects and the No. 22 overall draft prospect by MLB.com. He becomes the second-straight high school pitcher to be selected by the Orioles in the first round of the First-Year Player Draft, joining DL HALL (2017). Eight of the last 10 Orioles first round selections have been pitchers, including five from the high school ranks.
Cadyn Grenier, 21, hit .328/.415/.478 (76-for-232) with 16 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 60 runs, and 44 RBI this season (as of June 3). He was named the 2018 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. He was also named to the All-Pac-12 Conference First Team and All-Pac-12 Defensive First Team in 2018. Grenier was named a 2018 Preseason All-American by Baseball America. As a sophomore, he was named to the All-Pac-12 Conference First Team and Pac-12 All-Academic Second Team after starting all 62 games, batting .275/.393/.435 (55-for-200) with five doubles, six triples, five home runs, 34 runs, and 37 RBI. As a freshman in 2016, he played in 52 games, starting 49, batting .240/.342/.311 (40-for-167) with six doubles, three triples, 32 runs, and 18 RBI. He was named the Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year in 2015 as a senior at Bishop Gorman (NV) HS. He was also named a Rawlings-Perfect Game First Team Senior Preseason All-American and to the West – All Region First Team in 2015. He was ranked as the No. 63 overall draft prospect in Baseball America’s Top 200 Prospects and the No. 68 overall draft prospect by MLB.com. Grenier is just the second Oregon State player drafted by the Orioles. CURT DANIELS, also an infielder, was taken in the eighth round of the 1971 First-Year Player Draft.
The Draft will continue Tuesday, June 5, on MLB.com with rounds 3-10, beginning at 1:00 p.m., and conclude on Wednesday, June 6, with rounds 11-40 starting at 12:00 p.m.
