MLB draftees update: 8 Central Ga. products have signed and are playing; Houston County alum signs as free agent
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
They got the call on a Tuesday afternoon.
Within a week, Austin Cox and Logan Simmons were professional baseball employees.
Not long after, so were other six area players who were picked: Mercer’s Robert Broom, Christian Vann and Trey Truitt, and Georgia College’s Logan Mattix, Brandt Stallings, and Brandon Purcell.
The Central Georgia connections in the Major League Baseball draft all signed contracts with the teams that drafted them, led by fifth-round pick cox and sixth-round pick Simmons.
Multiple attempts for more than a week just after the draft to reach Cox and Simmons were unsuccessful.
Cox and the Royals came to terms on June 11, Kansas City adding a bonus of nearly $115,000, He begans his pro career in Burlington, N.C., with the Appalachian League after a mini-camp in Arizona.
Burlington is managed by former Atlanta Brave Brooks Conrad. Cox got the loss over the weekend after throwing three innings and striking out five with a walk.
Simmons signed two days later, getting $750,000 – according to MLB.com – for a draft slotted to get almost $295,000. He was sent to the Gulf Coast League, and got off to a good start.
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Ex-Houston County infielder Jones signs with Angels
The first Central Georgian to get picked up after the draft was former Houston County standout Justin Jones.
He signed with the L.A. Angels on June 13, and was promptly sent to the organization’s Arizona League team. He’s 3-for-12 in five games.
Jones, Georgia State’s first three-time academic All-American, started for four years for the Panthers, finishing as a career .293 hitter with 105 RBI, and 138 runs.
He batted .302 with six homers and 14 doubles as a senior.
Official stats, entering Thursday’s action (for all locals), have him 2-for-17, but without a homer.
Broom signed a few days after that, on June 15, and is with Cleveland’s Arizona League team. He has five strikeouts and no walks in three innings in three games.
Vann signed on June 13, and has three strikeouts and a walk in two innings in two games with the rookie team in the Gulf Coast League.
Mattix is off to a decent start, signing quickly and heading to the Quad Cities River Bandits of the full Class A Midwest League.
The Peach Belt player of the year is hitting .241 through eight games, dropping from .318 with an 0-for-7 slump.
Stallings traveled far for his debut, being placed with the Billings Mustangs of the rookie Pioneer League. He started off 0-for-6 and is at .190 in seven games.
Purcell is another Gulf Coast League member, and he’s off to a .125 start after four games.
Truitt is with the Orioles’ team in the GCL, and is batting .152 through eight games.