Two more Bulldogs picked in draft
Mangum will return to MSU, Gridley to decide
Once taken in the Major League Baseball Draft, college underclassmen have to make the decision whether to go professional or return to school.
A pair of Mississippi State players were drafted on Wednesday as junior shortstop Ryan Gridley and sophomore outfielder Jake Mangum both heard their names called. The Oakland Athletics took Gridley in the 11th round with the 321st overall pick. The New York Yankees drafted Mangum in the 30th round with the 902nd overall selection.
Although Gridley still has until July 7 to consider what the A's have to offer and sign a contract or come back to the Bulldogs, Mangum didn't waste any time and announced his plans on Twitter Wednesday night.
"I would like to thank the greatest organization in sports, the New York Yankees, for drafting me today," Mangum wrote. "It's truly a day I will never forget, but I'm coming back to Mississippi State for my junior year. I look forward to competing for coach (Andy) Cannizaro and the best college baseball fans in the country. Hail State."
Mangum and Gridley both were key pieces to MSU's offensive attack in 2017. Gridley hit .327, clubbed six home runs and had 39 RBI.
Such a strong season came as no surprise to Cannizaro. Gridley's potential was noticed by Cannizaro right after he was hired last November.
“There is just tremendous leadership ability,” Cannizaro said of Gridley. “He's a 4.0 student with baseball instincts off the charts. You start combining that with the ability to play the game and it's special. He has really good bat speed. His swing is in the zone for a really long time. He is a confident defender.
He comes and gets the baseball as well or better than anybody in our league at shortstop. He has instincts to run the bases and good speed and those types of things.
“You start combining tools to play the game, plus positive makeup and a love to play baseball and that's exactly what Ryan Gridley is.”
Mangum also had a big year for the Bulldogs. The switch hitter followed up his 2016 freshman season in which he earned the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year award by batting .324, driving in 26 runs and hitting 15 doubles this past season. Mangum accumulated those numbers despite being hampered by a broken hand for much of the campaign.
Gridley and Mangum join Brent Rooker, who the Minnesota Twins selected in the first round with the 35th overall pick on Monday, as the only Bulldogs drafted from the 2017 roster.
However, a total of 10 MSU signees were picked over the course of the draft's 40 rounds. Those include Reynaldo Rivera (second round to the Detroit Tigers), Quentin Holmes (second round to the Cleveland Indians), Troy Bacon (fourth round to the Atlanta Braves), Pearson McMahan (fourth round to the Colorado Rockies), Tyreque Reed (eighth round to the Texas Rangers), Bryce Hutchinson (12th round to the New York Mets), Tanner Allen (36th round to the Chicago Cubs), Josh Hatcher (39th round to the Los Angeles Angels), Chad Bryant (39th round to the Texas Rangers) and Jordan Anderson (40th round to the Texas Rangers).
Like Gridley and Rooker, all MSU signees have until July 7 to sign professional contracts should they choose to go that route.
Mangum may not be joining the Yankees, but Bulldog teammate Cody Brown reached a free agent deal with the New York organization on Wednesday night.