FIRST ROUND OF 2019 MLB DRAFT
HAS USA BASEBALL FINGERPRINT
USA Baseball’s influence was felt during the 2019 MLB Draft as 15 of the organization’s alumni were first-round picks. Among those first-round selections was firstoverall pick Adley Rutschman of Oregon State and a member of the 2018 USA Baseball Col
legiate National Team. He is the seventh consecutive USA Baseball alum to be selected No. 1 overall following Casey Mize (2018), Royce Lewis (2017), Mickey Moniak (2016), Dansby Swanson (2015), Brady Aiken (2014) and Mark Appel (2013).
“USA Baseball is extremely proud of the 15 alumni who were selected in the first round of the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft,” Paul Seiler, executive director and CEO of USA Baseball, told Beckett Baseball. “It’s an honor to watch as a special group of athletes are rewarded for their hard work and dedication by hearing their name called on draft night. We wish them all the best and look forward to following them throughout their professional careers.”
Since 1972, a total of 32 USA Baseball alumni have been selected No. 1 overall.
“A key part of our mission is to field teams comprised of the best athletes to represent our country on the international stage,” Seiler added. “To see these young men receive such a distinguished honor as being the first selection in the Draft is confirmation that we are fulfilling that mission.”
Of the top 10 picks in the first round Monday, seven are USA Baseball alumni and each can be found in Panini USA Baseball products. Fourteen of the picks can be found in 2019 Panini USA Baseball Stars & Stripes.
USA Baseball alumni enjoyed a big night Monday, beginning when Bobby Witt Jr. was selected with the secondoverall pick by the Royals and assisted in becoming one half of the highest father-son duo ever selected in the Major League Draft. He joined his father, Bobby Witt, who was drafted with the third overall pick by the Texas Rangers in 1985 after playing with the USA Baseball 1984 Collegiate National Team and for Team USA in the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games.
The first day of the 2019 continued to be an historical one for USA Baseball as Zack Thompson became the 500th USA Baseball alumnus to be drafted in the first round of the MLB Draft since 1972 when the St. Louis Cardinals selected him with the 19th pick. Eleven picks later, three-time alumnus Anthony Volpe became the first-ever 12U National Team alum selected in the MLB Draft when he was picked by the New York Yankees with the 30th overall pick.