Tigers Go For Big Payoff With Righthander Matt Manning
DETROIT (WWJ) - The Tigers select righthanded pitcher Matt Manning with their ninth overall pick in the 2016 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Manning, a 6 foot, 6 inch, 18-year-old from Sheldon High School in California looks like an interesting pick for the Detroit Tigers moving forward.
In eight starts as a senior, Manning posted a 2-1 record with a 1.91 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 40.1 innings. Manning, who is 6-6 and 185 pounds, was named a 2016 Rawlings-Perfect Game first team All-American and was selected to play in the 2015 Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park in San Diego, CA. Manning also played basketball in high school and averaged 26.0 points per game. He is committed to play baseball and basketball at Loyola Marymount University, said the Tigers in a release.
"The Tigers organization is excited to select Matt Manning this evening," Tigers Director, Amateur Scouting Scott Pleis said. "Matt is a hard throwing righthanded pitcher that also features a curve ball and a changeup. We've very excited to have the opportunity to add him to our organization."
Manning is rated as the second-best righthanded pitching prospect and the 11th-best prospect overall in the MLB Draft by MLB.com.
The 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft continues on Friday at 1 p.m. with rounds 3-10 and concludes on Saturday at 12 p.m. with rounds 11-40.
