High School Players Make MLB Draft History

On Monday, Major League Baseball held its 2017 Draft and for the first time since 1990, high school players were selected one, two, and three in the draft. With the first pick in the draft, the Minnesota Twins selected Royce Lewis out of California's Junipero Serra. At 6 feet 1 inch and 185 pounds, Lewis batted .377 along with four homeruns and 25 stolen bases. Lewis played both shortstop and outfield in high school and when asked about being selected first overall in an interview on the MLB Network, Lewis said "My body just went numb. It was an unbelievable feeling" The second pick of the draft belonged to the Cincinnati Reds who took Hunter Greene from another California high school, Notre Dame. Greene pitched and played shortstop in high school but his 0.75 ERA and 43 strikeouts with only four walks in 28 innings, the Reds have Greene eyed as a future ace for the franchise. "Man, I'm a monster," Greene said jokingly after being selected number two overall, "I'm different on the field than I am on the field. I'm just going to go out there and compete and challenge and pound the zone and go after guys like I know I can and like everybody else knows I can," Greene added. The number three pick went to the San Diego Padres who selected left hand pitcher Mackenzie Gore from Whiteville out of Whiteville, North Carolina. Gore comes equipped with a mid to low 90's fastball and a knee buckling curve ball and went 11-0 with a 0.19 ERA and 158 strikeouts in 74.1 innings. Gore also batted .478 with 29 RBI's.