Mississippi State Signee Selected in First Round of 2021 MLB Draft
Mississippi State signee Maddux Bruns was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers at No. 29 overall in the first round of the 2021 MLB Draft on Sunday evening.
Bruns became the third left-handed pitcher to be taken in this year's event, and was the second LHP to be taken out of high school.
Here's Jim Callis of MLB.com's analysis of Bruns:
"Bruns has huge upside, and he’s going to an organization that excels at getting the best out of its players," he wrote. "You don’t see a lot of high school lefties hitting 98 mph with their fastball, but he also has a mid-80s slider and can flash a plus curveball. Strike throwing has been a concern, but he looked better this spring.”
Bruns has received no shortage of honors throughout his young career that he's played out at UMS-Wright -- he was named Mr. Baseball and the 2021 Gatorade Alabama Player of the Year.
He had a solid 2020 season, going 7-0 with a 0.86 ERA. Bruns allowed a mere 13 hits and six earned runs in 49 innings of work. He was named the Class 5A Pitcher and Player of the Year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association for his efficiency in these performances.
He struck out 102 batters and walked just 19. In 10 starts, he recorded two shutouts, including a perfect game.
“We thought he was the best high school left-handed pitcher in the draft,” Dodgers director of amateur scouting Billy Gasparino said in a videoconference call. “It’s power pitches, power body. Everything about power is what he’s about.