The state of Georgia was foremost on the minds of the teams drafting in the first round Monday, as five high school players from the Peach State went among the top 50 picks in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
While Texas and California also finished the first round, held in Secaucus, N.J., with five high school players selected, Georgia was the only state to have five in the first round. Monday's draft selection included the 32 first-round picks along with 18 compensatory picks for teams who lost free agents last season.
The selections from Georgia included four who were expected to go in the first two rounds and a fifth who barely played high school baseball this season, Jake Skole of Blessed Trinity (Roswell, Ga.). A football recruit who has signed to play at Georgia Tech, Skole reportedly came on strong at the end of the season during Blessed Trinity's run through the Georgia AA state playoffs.
In 14 playoff games, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Skole batted .452 with six home runs and 21 RBI, including a pair of hits against Gatorade National Player of the Year Kaleb Cowart of Cook (Adel, Ga.). Skole missed nearly the entire season due to a sprained ankle. His brother Matt Skole is a third baseman at Georgia Tech.
While Skole did not appear on any first-round mock drafts, Georgia colleagues Delino Deshields of Woodward Academy (College Park, Ga.) and Cowart were both considered first-round selections. They did not disappoint.
DeShields Jr., the son of former Los Angeles Dodger Delino DeShields Sr., was the first Georgia player selected, going with the No. 8 pick. An outfielder in high school, DeShields Jr. may be targeted to play infield at the professional level.
Cowart, meanwhile, went to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim with the No. 18 pick overall, three spots behind Skole, who was nabbed by the Texas Rangers at No. 15. 
Dylan Covey, Maranatha
File photo by Daryl Chan
The Angels stayed in Georgia for their other two first-round picks, taking Cam Bedrosian of East Coweta (Sharpsburg, Ga.) at No. 29 and Chevez Clarke of Marietta (Ga.) at No. 30. Bedrosian is seen as a possible closer in the major leagues, a role his father Steve Bedrosian played during a long major league career. Clarke is listed as an outfielder.
Georgia has made a splash in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft the past two seasons. In 2008, Tim Beckham was the first overall player chosen in the draft while in 2009 Donavan Tate was the first high school player chosen.
Texas had five players chosen among the first 50 picks, including a pair of high school teammates. Zach Lee and Matt Lipka of McKinney (Texas) were taken eight picks apart with Lee, a pitcher, going to the Los Angeles Dodgers with the No. 28 pick and Lipka, a shortstop, going to the Atlanta Braves at No. 35. Besides playing baseball together at McKinney, Lee and Lipka formed a quarterback-wide receiver combination. Lee is signed to play quarterback at LSU next season while Lipka was an all-state receiver for McKinney.
Other Texas selections include Jameson Taillon of The Woodlands (Texas), the top high school player selected in the draft, Noah Syndergaard of Mansfield Legacy (Texas) and Tyrell Jenkins of Henderson (Texas).
Taillon was picked by the majority of the mock drafts to go in the No. 3 spot. Instead, the Pittsburgh Pirates took the 6-foot-7 flamethrower with the No. 2 overall selection.
Syndergaard was not considered a prospect at the beginning of the season and appeared on none of the first-round mock drafts. However, he caught the attention of scouts with a consistent 91-93 mph fastball. He went to the Toronto Blue Jays with the No. 38 pick. Jenkins, a pitcher, was the last pick of the day, going to the St. Louis Cardinals at No. 50.
California's top pick was Dylan Covey, a pitcher from Maranatha (Pasadena, Calif.), who went to the Milwaukee Brewers with the No. 14 selection. Christian Yelich of Westlake (Westlake Village, Calif.), a first baseman, was a bit of a surprise with the 23rd pick by the Florida Marlins while Aaron Sanchez of Barstow (Calif.), a pitcher, went to the Toronto Blue Jays at No. 34. Other California picks included Taijuan Walker, a pitcher from Yucaipa (Calif.), at No. 43 to the Seattle Mariners, and Peter Tago, a pitcher from Dana Hills (Dana Point, Calif.), with the No. 47 pick to the Colorado Rockies.
Several high profile high school players are still on the board when the second round begins today. A.J. Cole of Oviedo (Fla.), Stetson Allie of St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio), and Austin Wilson of Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) are all still available after being projected as first-round picks by many of the mock drafts.
