TL;DR
The Tampa Bay Rays are projected to select a standout slugger from Georgia Tech in the upcoming MLB Draft. This follows a strong performance by the player amid a competitive draft season.
Rays projected to take red-hot Georgia Tech slugger in MLB Draft originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
While the MLB season is now in full swing, so are high school and college seasons. For those who are looking to hear their name called later this summer in the MLB Draft, it's a make-or-break season.
Some of these top draft prospects have gotten off to a great start, while others have started slow or are unfortunately dealing with an injury.
For those unaware, the Chicago White Sox were awarded the first pick in the draft, and it's not much of a question who they will take. UCLA's Roch Cholowsky has been the clear No. 1 pick for a while now, but that doesn't mean there isn't exciting talent to take after him.
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Rays projected to take red-hot Georgie Tech slugger in MLB Draft
The Tampa Bay Rays were awarded the second pick in the MLB Draft. In a previous mock draft, it was thought they would select Alabama University shortstop Justin Lebron, but his stock has fallen a bit after the start of the season.
Instead, Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter believes they will take Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey second overall.
"Lackey is a terrific defensive catcher with good receiving skills, excellent footwork and a strong arm, and a big spring at the plate vaulted him comfortably into the top-five conversation. With a .398/.519/.789 line that includes 12 home runs and more walks than strikeouts, he has been one of the best hitters in the country, regardless of position."
Lackey has gotten off to a great start this season, which has driven up his draft stock. Not only is he the best catcher in the class, but he is arguably one of the best hitters as well.
He can hit all sides of the field, and he demolishes fastballs. However, if we were to work on one thing before the draft, it would have to be limiting the number of groundballs that he hits.
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