Tigers select Auburn’s Mize No. 1

SECAUCUS, N.J. — The Tigers selected Auburn right-hander Casey Mize with the No. 1 pick in the Major League Baseball draft Monday night.

The announcement marked the second time the Tigers led off the draft, and first since they took Rice pitcher Matt Anderson in 1997.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Mize had long been linked to the Tigers, and he pitched his way this season to the top spot on the team’s list. Mize went undrafted out of high school three years ago, but developed into a poten-Giants tial big league ace in college.

“It means a ton,” Mize said on MLB Network’s broadcast. “I’m very thankful that the Tigers thought of me enough to take me with their first selection. I can’t describe this feeling right now.”

Mize is 10-5 with a 2.95 ERA and 151 strikeouts with just 12 walks in 1092⁄3 innings while helping the Tigers to the NCAA tournament super regionals.

Mize became only the seventh player in draft history to go from undrafted in high school to the No. 1 pick since Stephen Strasburg went to the Nationals in 2009.

With the second selection, the took slugging Georgia Tech catcher Joey Bart, the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year. Bart led the conference in hitting with a .359 average and topped the Yellow Jackets with a .632 slugging percentage, 79 hits, 16 home runs, 55 runs and a .471 on-base percentage.

Wichita State third baseman Alec Bohm went to the Phillies with the third selection. Bohm is one of the top offensive players in the draft, hitting .339 with 16 homers — the most by a Wichita State player since 2004 — and 55 RBIs with 14 doubles and 39 walks.