BATON ROUGE, La. –
Josh Smith
LSU junior shortstop Josh Smith was selected Monday night on Day 1 of the 2019 MLB Draft. Smith was selected in the second round (pick No. 67) by the New York Yankees.
Smith, a product of Catholic High School in Baton Rouge, is LSU’s leading hitter this season, batting .346 (85-for-246) with 15 doubles, two triples, nine homers, 41 RBI 68 runs scored and 20 stolen bases. He is No. 4 in the Southeastern Conference in runs scored, No. 5 in stolen bases, No. 7 in hits, No. 8 in batting average and No. 10 in on-base percentage (.436).
He helped lead the Tigers last weekend to the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional title, and he was named to the All-Tournament team after hitting .400 (4-for-10) in three games with one double, one triple, one homer, three RBI and five runs scored.
Smith was also named to the SEC All-Tournament team last month after hitting .360 (9-for-25) with two doubles, one homer, four RBI and five runs.
He was named SEC Player of the Week on April 8, as he led LSU to a series win over ninth-ranked Texas A&M (April 5-6), batting .500 (6-for-12) in three games with one double, two homers, three RBI and four runs scored.
Smith posted a 13-game hit streak from February 16 through March 9, batting .431 (22-for-51) in that span with five doubles, one homer, 10 RBI and 16 runs. He recorded a 24-game on-base streak from February 15 through March 26.
Two LSU signees were also selected on Monday night – right-handed pitcher Daniel Espino of Georgia Premier Academy was the first-round selection (24th pick) of the Cleveland Indians, and shortstop Rece Hinds of IMG Academy in Florida was the second-round selection (49th pick) of the Cincinnati Reds.
Zach Watson
LSU junior centerfielder Zach Watson was selected Tuesday on Day 2 of the 2019 MLB Draft. Watson was selected in the third round (pick No. 79) by the Baltimore Orioles.
Watson, a product of Ruston, La., hit two homers and drove in seven runs in three games last week to help lead LSU to the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional title. He is batting .310 (71-for-229) this season with 17 doubles, seven homers, 41 RBI, 52 runs and 11 stolen bases.
Watson hit .429 (6-for-14) in the Texas A&M series (April 5-6) with two doubles, one homer, four RBI and four runs. He tied his career high with four hits in Game 3 against the Aggies while providing two doubles, one homer, three RBI and three runs scored.
He posted a 10-game hit streak from March 9-24, batting .450 (18-for-40) in that span with four doubles, two homers, 10 RBI, 12 runs.
In LSU’s three-game sweep of Kentucky (March 16-17), Watson hit .615 (8-for-13) with one double, one homer, six RBI and eight runs scored. In the Tigers’ Game 2 win over Kentucky (March 16), he tied his career high with four hits, as he was 4-for-4 at the plate with one double, one homer, five RBI and four runs.
Watson, a three-year starter for LSU in center field, hit .280 in 14 games last summer as a member of the U.S. Collegiate National Team with two doubles, one homer, three RBI and a team-best seven runs scored.
Zack Hess
LSU junior right-hander Zack Hess was selected Tuesday on Day 2 of the 2019 MLB Draft. Hess was selected in the seventh round (pick No. 202) by the Detroit Tigers.
Hess, a product of Forest, Va., has worked both as a weekend starter and as a closer for LSU during his three-year career. This season, he is 4-5 with a 4.63 ERA and two saves in 18 appearances (10 starts), recording 82 strikeouts in 70 innings.
He has an 18-12 career record in 65 appearances (32 starts) with a 4.39 ERA, six saves and 272 strikeouts in 223.1 innings.
Hess was the winning pitcher in Sunday’s NCAA Baton Rouge Regional championship game, as he worked the final three innings and limited Southern Miss to one run on two hits with one walk and four strikeouts.
He fired four shutout relief innings last month versus Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament with two walks and five strikeouts.
Hess delivered a superb starting performance on March 22 at Georgia, as he blanked the Bulldogs through eight innings, scattering eight hits with no walks and nine strikeouts.
Todd Peterson
LSU junior right-hander Todd Peterson was selected Tuesday on Day 2 of the 2019 MLB Draft. Peterson was chosen in the seventh round (pick No. 213) by the Washington Nationals.
Peterson, a product of Lake Mary, Fla., is 5-2 with a 3.83 ERA this season in 28 appearances (one start). He has worked 44.2 innings, recording three saves and 40 strikeouts.
Peterson is 9-6 with a 4.14 ERA during his three-year LSU career, recording 99 strikeouts in 126 innings with nine saves in 74 appearances (nine starts).
Peterson earned a win and a save in last month’s SEC Tournament, working 4.1 innings and allowing one run on two hits with five strikeouts. He made two appearances in LSU’s final regular-season series versus Auburn, allowing one run on two hits in 4.2 innings with four strikeouts.
Peterson recorded a brilliant relief effort on May 11 to earn a win at Arkansas, working four shutout innings and limiting the Razorbacks to one hit with two walks and three strikeouts.
From April 3-23 of this season, he worked 12.1 consecutive innings over seven appearances without allowing an earned run, giving up only three hits in that period.