The 2019 Major League Baseball Draft is complete, and Clemson had five players from the 2019 team drafted and three from the 2019 signing class.
Shortstop Logan Davidson led the charge with a No. 29 overall pick in the first round by the Oakland Athletics on Monday. Davidson is just the 15th first-round pick in Clemson history. His first-round selection marks the second year in a row the Tigers’ have had a first-round pick.
Last year, Seth Beer was taken in the first round as well. Beer’s and Davidson’s selections marked the first time since the 2006 and 2007 seasons Clemson had back-to-back years with a first-round draft pick.
Catcher Kyle Wilkie came off the board second when he was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 12th round with the 364th overall pick on Wednesday. Wilkie hit .307 with six homers, 14 doubles, 41 RBIs, 41 runs, a .385 on-base percentage and five steals in 58 games (56 starts) in 2019. In his career, the two-time All-ACC selection is hitting .307 with 11 homers, one triple, 25 doubles, 86 RBIs, 81 runs, a .400 on-base percentage and seven steals in 144 games (134 starts).
Wilkie was the first Tiger chosen by the Pirates since 2015 (Eli White).
Owen Griffith followed Wilkie with a 20th-round selection, as he went No. 599 overall in the draft. He had a 2-2 record, 5.40 ERA, .230 opponents’ batting average and 41 strikeouts in 30.0 innings pitched over 24 relief appearances in 2019.
In his career, Griffith is 3-4 with one save, a 4.55 ERA, .229 opponents’ batting average and 73 strikeouts in 59.1 innings pitched over 48 relief appearances.
First baseman Grayson Byrd was picked in the 24th round by the Chicago Cubs at No. 732, while pitcher Brooks Crawford was the last Tiger taken in the draft at No. 866 in the 29th round.
Byrd hit .316 with 16 homers, two triples, 16 doubles, 59 RBIs, 49 runs, a .394 on-base percentage and four steals in 61 starts on his way to earning third-team All-America and First-Team All-ACC honors in 2019.
In his three-year Clemson career, the senior batted .287 with 26 homers, three triples, 24 doubles, 105 RBIs, 94 runs, a .357 on-base percentage and 10 steals in 166 games (154 starts).
Crawford was 1-5 with a save, 6.96 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 42.2 innings pitched over 14 appearances (10 starts) in 2019. In his career, he was 16-7 with a 3.94 ERA, two saves, a .258 opponents’ batting average and 137 strikeouts against 58 walks in 192.0 innings pitched over 73 appearances (28 starts). He was the first Tiger chosen by the Giants since 2016 (Alex Bostic).
As for Clemson’s 2019 class, Nasim Nunez was selected in the second round of the MLB Draft on Monday. The shortstop went to the Miami Marlins with the No. 46 overall pick in the draft.
On Wednesday, the Tigers had two signees and committed player get drafted, including Gavin Collyer, a 6-foot-1, 155-pound pitcher, who was selected No. 355 overall in the 12th round by the Texas Rangers. Collyer is a right-handed pitcher from Mountain View High School in Georgia. He was committed to the Tigers.
Signee Jonathan French was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 30th round. French, a catcher, played high school baseball at Parkview High School in Parkview, Georgia. He was picked at 910 overall.
Another player with Clemson ties that was taken in the draft was Dylan Brewer. He was selected in the 32nd round by the San Francisco Giants. Brewer is a center fielder from Latta High School in Latta, South Carolina. He was the No. 956 overall player taken in the draft.
In all, three of Clemson’s 14 signees for the 2019 Class were drafted.