The Auburn Tigers had a total of eight players selected during the three-day Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft earlier this week. One of those picks has officially signed with the franchise that drafted him.
Right-handed pitcher [autotag]Blake Burkhalter[/autotag], who was used as the Tigers’ primary closer in 2022, signed his rookie deal with the Atlanta Braves on Friday, Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline has reported.
According to Callis, Burkhalter signed with the Braves for under slot value.
Burkhalter’s signing shuts the door on his Auburn career. In three seasons on the Plains, Burkhalter struck out 104 of the 298 batters he faced, issuing just 26 walks and allowing 24 earned runs in 71.2 innings pitched.
Last season, Burkhalter recorded an SEC-best 16 saves, which was the second-highest in the country behind Tristan Stivors of Texas State. Burkhalter appeared in 30 games for Auburn in 2021, where he struck out a career-best 71 batters in 46.1 innings pitched.
Supplemental 2nd-rder Blake Burkhalter signs with @Braves for $647,500 (slot 76 = $860,100). @AuburnBaseball RHP, should be one of 1st guys from @MLBDraft to bigs. Reliever, second in NCAA D-I with 16 SV, three solid or better pitches (fastball to 98) & throws a ton of strikes. pic.twitter.com/4J3iag8RBI
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) July 22, 2022
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