Tigers take Auburn RHP Casey Mize with first overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft

Auburn pitcher Casey Mize was selected as the first overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, with the Detroit Tigers opting for the right-hander to continue their rebuild.

Mize has a 2.95 ERA in 16 starts this season, with 151 strikeouts and just 12 walks in 109⅔ innings. The 6’3 junior struck out 11 in seven innings in a win over Army in the regional round of the NCAA baseball tournament on Saturday for Auburn, who advanced to the super regional round for the second time in school history.

The right-hander struck out 10 or more batters in six different starts this season.

“Watching him strike out 15 against Vanderbilt in a complete game with no walks was like watching somebody play a video game with the cheat codes,” an anonymous American League scout told Matthew Stevens of the Montgomery Advertiser in Alabama.

This is the earliest an Auburn player has ever been picked the draft, besting No. 4 overall selection Gregg Olson, who was drafted in 1988 by the Baltimore Orioles. Mize and Olson are the only two two-time All Americans in Auburn school history.

“We project that his arsenal will play up at the Major League level — including what we feel are four true ‘plus’ pitches,” said Tigers amateur scouting director Scott Pleis. “Casey has tremendous upside, and his tools have the potential to take his career to special places. Pitchers with his control and command are extremely rare, and we’re all excited to see him get to work and begin his career as a Tiger.”

Mize is the second top overall draft pick for the Tigers, and the first since Matt Anderson in 1997.

The Tigers lost 98 games in 2017 and are on pace for 85 more losses in 2018, which would be their third losing season in the last four years. That adds importance to the top pick, whom the Tigers hope can bolster their player development.

”You’re picking 1-1, in the first round, you don’t want to swing and miss,” general manager Al Avila told the Detroit Free Press last week.

Mize was rated the top prospect heading into the draft by Baseball America, who said of the right-hander, “The stuff, pitchability and performance give Mize the ceiling of a future ace, with his medical history being the only knock on his resume.”

The No. 1 overall pick has an allotted slot value of $8,096,300. Detroit has the third-highest draft bonus pool at $12,414,800, derived from their picks through the first 10 rounds.