BREAKING: John McMillion drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 11th round

Texas Tech junior RHP and former smasher of home runs John McMillion has been selected by the Detroit Tigers in the MLB draft in the 11^th round with the 322^nd overall pick.

The 6’3” 230 pound Jasper, Texas product gets picked up by a team currently in re-building mode, looking to stockpile on talent for momentum into the future. Detroit currently has a surplus of good pitching in the minors, headlined by 2018 first round pick, Auburn’s Casey Mize; however, I do not think they currently have a player who can hit 100mph on the gun like McMillion or send a ball into orbit, like McMillion can.

McMillion was drafted in the 21^st round by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2016 draft, but opted to come to Lubbock. The results obviously have improved, and his draft stock has jumped tremendously. McMillion came to Lubbock, Texas and started his career as a very good two-way player, making 24 appearances on the mound and starting 18 games as the designated hitter in his first season in 2017. He compiled a 1.75 ERA with a 2-0 record in 25.2 innings of work and flashed a .229 batting average in 70 at-bats, driving in 14 RBI and eight home runs. In 2018, his at-bats decreased while he focused on the mound. As a result, his innings climbed (65.2), as well as his ERA (4.49), but McMillion’s found a niche coming out of the bullpen to help shutdown high leverage situations for Tim Tadlock later in the year and helped propel the team to another College World Series appearance.

2019 saw McMillion focus solely on the mound, where he has compiled a 3.32 ERA in 38.0 innings pitched with 52 strikeouts. He has also been able to hit 95mph-plus on the gun consistently. He has certainly established his niche, and has become a significant and reliable arm out of the bullpen for the Red Raiders, which has been their strength lately.

Congratulations to Big John for being a tremendous representative of Texas Tech and good luck at the next level, should he decide to sign.