Two West Virginia Baseball Players Picked in MLB Draft

After one of the most successful seasons in program history, two West Virginia baseball players were selected in the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Kyle Davis was chosen in the 15th round by the Houston Astros and Jackson Cramer was picked up in the 35th round by the Washington Nationals.

Davis, an outfielder from Cincinnati, made the East-ABCA/Rawlings All-Region First Team in 2017 and was on the 2016 Big 12 All-Tournament team. This season, he totaled a .316 batting average, a .526 slugging percentage, a .405 on-base percentage and an OPS of .930. He was second on the team in hits (74) and led the team—and conference—in triples (3).

The Astros will most likely put Davis in their well-regarded minor league system. His options may include A-level Quad Cities (Davenport, Iowa) River Bandits, short-season Tri-City (Troy, N.Y.) ValleyCats, and rookie leagues.

Cramer, a first-baseman from Coppell, Texas, was a very late pick by the Nationals, but he was a driving force in for the Mountaineer offense this season. He led the team in homers (11), RBI (46) and doubles (14). Though his OPS waned as the season ended, he finished tied for eighth in the conference with 49 runs scored. He was named to the Big 12 All-Tournament team this season and was a three-time Big 12 Player of the Week in 2016.

The Nationals could also assign Cramer to Gulf Coast and Dominican rookie leagues, or the short-season Auburn (N.Y.) Doubledays or A-level Hagerstown (Md.) Suns.

Davis will have until the end of today (June 15) to decide if he wants to pursue a professional contract or stay at WVU. Cramer has finished his work with WVU and is available for assignment immediately.