TIGERS SELECT BRYCE RAINER WITH 11TH OVERALL PICK
The Detroit Tigers selected SS Bryce Rainer from Harvard-Westlake High School (CA) with the 11th overall pick in the 2024 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Rainer, 19, hit .505/.614/.722/1.336 with nine doubles, four home runs and 22 RBI in 33 games during his senior season. He drew 28 walks, while punching out only 14 times. He also stole 17 bases and was caught stealing just once. Following the season, he was named a Baseball America and MaxPreps First Team All-American, Cal-Hi Sports Senior Player of the Year, the Mission League Most Valuable Player and The Los Angeles Daily News All-Area Player of the Year.
As a freshman at Harvard-Westlake, Bryce Rainer was named the MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year, hitting .392 with 13 RBI at the plate and going 9-0 with a 1.46 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 55.2 innings on the mound.
In addition to playing at Harvard-Westlake, Rainer was also a member of Team USA’s 2023 18U National Team, playing in eight games. At the National High School Invitational, which features top prospects from across the country, Rainer went 7×13 with two doubles, five walks, no strikeouts and two stolen bases.
The Tigers have two additional picks on the first night of the MLB Draft, holding the No. 49 pick in the second round and No. 72 in Competitive Balance Round B.
The Tigers also selected RHP Owen Hall from Edmond North HS (OK) in the second round (49thth overall), and LHP Ethan Schiefelbein from Corona HS (CA) in Competitive Balance Round B (72nd overall).
Hall, 18, started nine games with Edmond North as a senior, posting a 3-1 record with a 1.67 ERA, .118 opponent batting average, 75 strikeouts and only 13 walks. He was named a 6A All-Star by the Oklahoma Baseball Coaches Association.
Hall participated in the 2023 Area Code Games where he struck out 10 of the 18 batters he faced with nine of the punchouts coming on his fastball. He was selected a Perfect Game preseason All-American entering the 2024 season.
Schiefelbein, 18, started 10 games with Corona HS as a senior, compiling an 8-0 record with a 0.27 ERA, 83 strikeouts and 11 walks in 52.0 innings. He was named a MaxPreps All-American and was a member of the Los Angeles Times All-Area Team and the CIF Southern Section All-Division 1 team.
A member of the USA Prime National/Detroit Tigers Scout Team, Schiefelbein was teammates with Rainer on Team USA’s 2023 18U National Team, starting two games and going 1-0 with a 0.78 ERA. Schiefelbein threw a shutout for Corona at the National High School Invitational, allowing a hit and a walk while punching out 12.
The 2024 MLB Draft continues Monday with rounds 3-10. The draft concludes Tuesday with rounds 11-20.