Cleveland Indians Draft Pair of High School Pitchers

Cleveland Indians Draft RHP Triston McKenzie 42nd Overall

The Cleveland Indians stick with pitching with their second pick in the 2015 MLB draft taking high school right-hander Triston McKenzie 42nd overall.

McKenzie is out of Royal Palm Beach High School in Florida with a commitment to Vanderbilt. Indians selected Justus Sheffield at a similar spot last year who also had a commitment to Vanderbilt, which is one of the best programs in the country. McKenzie stands 6’5″ and weighs only 165 lbs. Only 17 years old and appears to have the frame that should fill out nicely as he matures. He has a fastball that sits in the low 90s, a good 10 mph higher than he was throwing just two years ago. As with all young pitchers still needs work on his secondary stuff but a very projectable right-hander. The slot value for the 42nd pick is $1,468,400.

Cleveland Indians Draft LHP Juan Hillman 59th Overall

The Cleveland Indians stuck with the prep arms with their third and final pick on the first day of the 2015 MLB Draft selecting LHP Juan Hillman in the second round.

Juan Hillman is another projectable high school arm who stands 6’2″ and 183 lbs.  Hillman has had a very nice mentor these last few years as his Godfather is former major league Tom Gordon, who Hillman has credited with being key in his development as a pitcher. In fact, Tom “The Flash” Gordon became Hillman’s legal guardian a couple years ago.  The slot value for the 59th pick is $1,041,900.

The Cleveland Indians surprised many with how aggressive they were going with essentially three high schoolers (Aiken is still only 18 and younger than Justus Sheffield).  They have eight more picks tomorrow with rounds 3-10 taking place.   Be sure to check back tomorrow for continuing Indians draft coverage here at Wahoo’s on First.

Next: Cleveland Indians draft former No. 1 overall pick Aiken