Kentucky baseball saw its second player taken in the 2024 MLB Draft Sunday night when second baseman Emilien Pitre became a second-round selection (No. 58 overall) by the Tampa Bay Rays.
Pitre batted .301 with 10 home runs and 20 doubles in 62 games for the Wildcats in 2024. He finished the season with 58 RBIs and a .939 OPS and was a key cog in Kentucky’s trip to the College World Series — their first in school history. In Omaha, Pitre was 4-for-11 with a home run in the team’s three games.
A native of Quebec, Canada, Pitre joined the program ahead of the 2022 season and saw action in 11 games his freshman season. A year later, he had a breakout campaign, starting all 61 games and batting .311 with 16 doubles.
For his efforts this past season, Pitre earned All-SEC Defensive Team honors and finished with a fielding percentage of .992 (two errors in 225 chances). At the plate, he had a season-high three hits in Kentucky’s 10-1 victory over Alabama on April 7 in Lexington.
Pitre could still return to Kentucky for his senior season but it’s highly unlikely. His projected slot value as the No. 58 overall pick is $1.5 million.
Earlier Sunday, Kentucky outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt was drafted in the first round (31st overall) by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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