Every baseball player dreams of playing in the major leagues, and two talents from the greater San Antonio area took a step closer to achieving that goal on Sunday night.
MacArthur High School graduate and Texas Tech star Jace Jung was selected No. 12 overall by the Detroit Tigers in the 2022 MLB Draft. Jace was the first Texas-born player to enter this year’s draft, and he now joins older brother Josh in the big leagues after Josh was ranked No. 8 overall by the Texas Rangers in 2019. in his three seasons with the Red Raiders, Jace hit .328 with 39 home runs and 126 walks in two NCAA Tournament runs.
Last year he hit .337 with 14 homers and 57 RBIs. His position has been a question mark for scouts, but most seem to put him at second or third base. In 2021, he earned Big 12 Player of the Year honors and was a first-team All-American.
by Boerne Cole Phillips was taken No. 57 overall by defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves. Phillips had already committed to playing college ball at Arkansas and was projected by many pundits as a first-round pick. He was ranked among the top 10 pitchers in the nation before the draft.
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Last year Phillips went 4-0 with 42 strikeouts, just seven hits allowed and no earned runs, but sadly the Greyhounds star underwent Tommy John surgery to repair ligament damage at the elbow on March 29. He is Boerne’s 11th student. ISD selected in an MLB draft.
Three other locals were selected in Monday’s MLB draft. With the 164th overall pick, the Tampa Bay Rays selected the former Madison High School standout Jalen battles. In two seasons at Arkansas, Battles hit .279 with 16 home runs and 88 RBIs. Another native of Boerne Doug Hodo III was selected with the first pick of the sixth round 167th overall by the Baltimore Orioles. Hodo proved crucial to the Longhorns’ run to the NCAA Tournament this year. He hit .292 with 16 long balls and 95 RBIs over three seasons at Texas.
Last but not least, graduated from Johnson High School Dalton Shuffield was taken 294th overall by the Minnesota Twins. Shuffield played five collegiate seasons at Texas State, hitting 20 homers with 117 RBIs and racking up 42 stolen bases. He was named Sun Belt Player of the Year in 2022.
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