Three Georgia Tech baseball players were selected on Wednesday in the final 29 rounds of the 2019 MLB Draft.
It was a strong draft year for Georgia Tech baseball, the Jackets saw seven players get drafted in the 2019 MLB Draft including three players on Wednesuau afternoon.
Selected from Tech on Wednesday was outfielder Chase Murray, right handed pitcher Amos Willingham, and infielder Luke Waddell. All three players will have the opportunity to return to Georgia Tech next year if they choose not to sign.
Murray, a junior outfielder out of Ohio was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 13th round, 394th overall. It’s a pretty strong draft position for Murray considering he played in just 22 games this season after dealing with a nagging injury. In those 22 games, he hit just .235/.293/.353 with five extra base hits in 85 at bats. It’s safe to say his sophomore season that saw him hit over .300 ended up being a big factor.
The next player drafted was right hander Amos Willingham who went in the 17th round and 513th overall to the Washington Nationals. The JUCO transfer pitched his way to an 8-2 record in 2019 with a 5.19 ERA over 69.1 innings pitched. He did get hit around at times with 78 hits in his 69.1 innings and posted a 1.39 WHIP on the season.
Overall, Willingham for the most part was a quality pitcher for the Jackets and has the foundation for being a quality pitcher going forward. That being said, not being a power pitcher, Willingham needs to focus more on limiting mistake pitches. Another season at Tech should help Willingham a good bit.
The final player drafted on Wednesday was infielder Luke Waddell who went in the 32nd round to the Arizona Diamondbacks and 962nd overall. Waddell was one of the Jackets most consistent bats this year hitting .322/.436/.416 on the season while also walking 45 times and only striking out just 22 times. Waddell should return to Tech for his senior year where another great season should move him up draft boards quite a bit in time for next year’s MLB Draft.
Overall, we expect the Jackets first five players to be selected to enter the professional ranks. That means they’ll be saying good bye to Tristin English, Kyle McCann, Connor Thomas, Xzavion Curry, and Chase Murray. All five will be notable losses and it will be interesting to see how the Jackets replace those five next season.