Red Raider Trio Goes on Day Two of the MLB Draft

Three student-athletes from the Texas Tech baseball team were selected on day two of the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft on Tuesday.

Sophomore outfielder Gabe Holt was drafted with the 223^rd pick in the seventh round by the Milwaukee Brewers, junior RHP Caleb Kilian was chosen at 236^th in the eighth round by the San Francisco Giants and junior RHP Taylor Floyd joins Holt with the Brewers at No. 313 in the 10^th round.

The trio joins junior infielder Josh Jung, who was drafted with the No. 8 overall pick by the Texas Rangers on Monday night. It’s the second straight year Tech has had four players go in the first 10 rounds of the draft process, a first for Texas Tech.

In seven seasons, head coach Tim Tadlock has had 44 Red Raiders hear their names called, including 19 in the first 10 rounds. Holt’s selection marks the fourth consecutive year a Tech outfielder has gone in the opening 10 rounds. Kilian’s pick makes him the highest RHP chosen from Tech since Matt Withrow in 2015, who went in the sixth round to the Braves.

Holt starred for two seasons as a dynamic leadoff hitter for Texas Tech. He holds a .337 career average with 174 hits, 122 runs scored, 78 RBI and 57 stolen bases. He has been a consistent force at the top of the lineup, reaching base in 115-of-122 career games and totaling 57 stolen bases in 61 attempts.

The Bonaire, Ga., native was the school’s first unanimous Freshman All-American in 2018 and named Big 12 Freshman of the Year that season. Moving from second base to outfield, he ranking 10^th in the nation in runs scored and 11^th in hits to help Texas Tech to its third College World Series.

This season, Holt was named All-Big 12 First Team for the second straight year and was named to the NCAA Lubbock All-Regional Team. His 71 hits and 25 stolen bases during the regular season led the Big 12 and his 41 hits during conference play were eight more than the closest competitor.

Kilian, who returned to Tech after being drafted in the 20^th round in 2018, was nearly unbeatable for Texas Tech throughout the majority of the season. He went 7-0 in Big 12 play to become one of seven Big 12 pitchers since 2002 to record seven conference wins without a loss. The Red Raiders went 12-3 in games that he started as the Flower Mound, Texas, native possesses a 3.89 ERA with 72 strikeouts to 18 walks.

During conference play, Kilian delivered three starts with two hits or less over seven-plus innings. He tossed seven shutout innings of one-hit ball at No. 10 Texas on Mar. 16. At the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, he struck out nine in seven innings of work against and yielded just two runs on two hits against No. 17 West Virginia. His crown jewel came against the Mountaineers in Morgantown, pitching a complete-game, two-hit shutout with nine strikeouts and no walks.

Floyd has been a weapon coming out of the bullpen for Texas Tech in his only season in Lubbock. The Frisco, Texas, native leads the team in strikeouts with 78 in 50.1 innings of work.

An All-Big 12 First Team selection, Floyd sports a 5-3 record with three saves and a 2.86 ERA. He leads all Tech relievers in wins and ranks second in saves. His presence has helped the Tech pitching staff improve its team ERA from 4.48 in 2018 to 3.84 this season.

The Red Raiders continue their season this weekend in the NCAA Super Regionals against No. 9 Oklahoma State. The best-of-three series gets underway at 2 p.m. on Friday on ESPN 2.

2019 MLB DRAFT
Josh Jung – 1st Round – 8^th overall – Texas Rangers
Gabe Holt – 7th Round – 223^rd overall – Milwaukee Brewers
Caleb Kilian – 8th Round – 236^th overall – San Francisco Giants
Taylor Floyd – 10^th Round – 313^th overall – Milwaukee Brewers

Courtesy of TexasTech.com