BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU junior shortstop Josh Smith was selected Monday night on Day 1 of the 2019 MLB Draft. Smith was selected in the second round (pick No. 67) by the New York Yankees.
Smith, a product of Catholic High School in Baton Rouge, is LSU’s leading hitter this season, batting .346 (85-for-246) with 15 doubles, two triples, nine homers, 41 RBI 68 runs scored and 20 stolen bases. He is No. 4 in the Southeastern Conference in runs scored, No. 5 in stolen bases, No. 7 in hits, No. 8 in batting average and No. 10 in on-base percentage (.436).
He helped lead the Tigers last weekend to the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional title, and he was named to the All-Tournament team after hitting .400 (4-for-10) in three games with one double, one triple, one homer, three RBI and five runs scored.
Smith was also named to the SEC All-Tournament team last month after hitting .360 (9-for-25) with two doubles, one homer, four RBI and five runs.
He was named SEC Player of the Week on April 8, as he led LSU to a series win over ninth-ranked Texas A&M (April 5-6), batting .500 (6-for-12) in three games with one double, two homers, three RBI and four runs scored.
Smith posted a 13-game hit streak from February 16 through March 9, batting .431 (22-for-51) in that span with five doubles, one homer, 10 RBI and 16 runs. He recorded a 24-game on-base streak from February 15 through March 26.
Two LSU signees were also selected on Monday night – right-handed pitcher Daniel Espino of Georgia Premier Academy was the first-round selection (24th pick) of the Cleveland Indians, and shortstop Rece Hinds of IMG Academy in Florida was the second-round selection (49th pick) of the Cincinnati Reds.
LSU Players Drafted – Day 1
Josh Smith, SS Round 2 (67th selection) New York Yankees
LSU Signees Drafted – Day 1
Daniel Espino, RHP (Georgia Premier Academy) Round 1 (24th selection) Cleveland Indians
Rece Hinds, SS (IMG Academy) Round 2 (49th selection) Cincinnati Reds
Jimmy Lewis, RHP (Lake Travis, Texas HS) Round 2 (78th selection) Los Angeles Dodgers
The first two rounds of the MLB Draft were completed Monday night. The draft continues with Rounds 3-10 on Tuesday beginning at Noon CT, and it concludes on Wednesday with Rounds 11-40 beginning at 11 a.m. CT.
