The MLB Draft continued on Tuesday as round 11 kicked off the day. Three international players were drafted, here is information on all of them.
Alan Espinal
The Colorado Rockies selected catcher Alan Espinal, born in Puerto Rico, with the 318th pick in the MLB Draft. Espinal played his college ball at Vanderbilt University.
Espinal put up great stats this past season, with a .289 batting average and a .943 OPS in 59 games against SEC Competition. He was named SEC Player of the Week back in March. He also hit two home runs and drove in five against #1 Tennessee in the SEC Tournament. His best game of the season was March 16, where he went 4-4 with a double and 4 RBI against Auburn.
Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin had some great words for Espinal about his effort and how he treats his teammates, “He has innate team fibers. He plays the game for a bigger purpose than himself…he fights for his teammates. He is valued highly by his teammates because of his ability to share time and energy with them.”
Edgar Colon
With the 329th pick in the 11th round, the Cincinnati Reds selected Edgar Colon. Colon is a right-handed pitcher from Felix Varela Senior High School in Miami, FL.
From Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, Colon was committed to the University of Miami and was the number one ranked Puerto Rican right-handed pitcher by Perfect Game. Colon had a dominant last high school year with a 1.00 ERA and 53 strikeouts. Possessing a fastball with speed in the 90s and a good curveball, the Reds certainly have a lot of upside in their 11th-round pick.
Andy Polanco
The San Francisco Giants used their 11th round pick on outfielder Andy Polanco who was born in the Dominican Republic. Polanco played his high school baseball in Davenport, Florida at Central Pointe Christian high school.
The University of Central Florida commit was selected with the 328th pick. The 19-year-old prospect also pitched during high school. At a Perfect Game event, he flashed his velocity with an 89 mph fastball—a nice tool for the outfielder who may need to throw out runners when he reaches professional baseball.
Andy Polanco (‘24,FL) • Goes down and clubs this one to deep LF for a lead off 2B to start the game for the @SFBanditsBSB. Tall & athletic CF, good power/speed combo at the top of the lineup @cfpats #PBC pic.twitter.com/e3nkaVGHNo
— Prospect Select Scout (@PSBaseballScout) June 9, 2024
Polanco also played for the South Florida Bandits in the Perfect Game Baseball Association. He now has to decide if he’d like to begin his professional career in the Giants organization or stay true to his commitment to UCF in hopes of improving his draft stock in college.
Photo Credit: Major League Baseball Comissioner Robert D. Manfred announces the first round draft pick for the Arizona Diamondbacks at the 2024 MLB Draft at Cowtown Coliseum on July 14, 2024 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
