Orioles select outfielder Austin Hays in 3rd round (4th, 5th round)

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  Roch Kubatko

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  June 10, 2016 2:03 pm

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With three college pitchers already in the fold, the Orioles began Day 2 of the First-Year Player Draft by selecting Jacksonville University outfielder Austin Hays in the third round.
Hays is the 91st overall pick. Baseball America rated him No. 46 on its draft prospect list and wrote the following:
“Power potential with bat and power arm make him prototype right field prospect.”
Hays, 20, batted .350/.406/.655 with 16 doubles, two triples, 16 home runs and 42 RBIs in 54 games as a junior. He…

With three college pitchers already in the fold, the Orioles began Day 2 of the First-Year Player Draft by selecting Jacksonville University outfielder Austin Hays in the third round.

Hays is the 91st overall pick. Baseball America rated him No. 46 on its draft prospect list and wrote the following:

“Power potential with bat and power arm make him prototype right field prospect.”

Hays, 20, batted .350/.406/.655 with 16 doubles, two triples, 16 home runs and 42 RBIs in 54 games as a junior. He also stole 15 bases in 20 attempts and scored 48 runs.

In two years with the Dolphins, Hays batted .311/.376/.522 with 26 doubles, five triples, 19 home runs, 78 RBIs and 24 stolen bases in 31 attempts in 110 games.

Hays played one season at Seminole State College in Florida and was named team Most Valuable Player, first-team All-Conference and second-team All-State. He hit .382/.425/.576 with 12 doubles, a triple, six home runs and 38 RBIs. He also had seven outfield assists.

Update: The Orioles used their fourth-round pick (No. 121) on right-hander Brenan Hanifee of Turner Ashby High School in Bridgewater, Va. Baseball America rated him No. 181 in its top 500 and wrote the following:

“Pop up right-hander with spring with a power pitcher’s frame and a low-90s fastball.”

Hanifee was 7-0 with a 0.78 ERA in nine relief appearances. He allowed six earned runs and 25 hits, walked four and struck out 73 in 54 innings.

Hanifee, listed at 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds, also played shortstop and batted .324/.455/.558 as a senior, with seven doubles, three home runs and 16 RBIs in 68 at-bats.

Update II: The Orioles chose shortstop Alexis Torres of Colegio Angel David High School in Puerto Rico with the 151st overall pick in the fifth round.

Torres, of Caguas, P.R., was named 2016 Rawlings-Perfect Game first-team All-American. He’s listed at 6-foot and 183 pounds.