SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Missouri State junior Jake Burger became the sixth Bear to be selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft Monday evening, as the Chicago White Sox nabbed the third baseman with the 11th overall pick.
After helping lead the Bears to a pair of Missouri Valley Conference titles and two NCAA Regional crowns in his three-year career, Burger becomes the Bears’ highest overall draftee since the Washington Nationals selected Ross Detwiler with the sixth overall pick of the 2007 Draft. The No. 11 overall selection is the second-highest for a Missouri State player, trailing only Detwiler.
Last week, Burger became just the third Bear to receive first-team All-America honors from Baseball America. The Chesterfield, Mo., product ranks seventh nationally with 22 home runs, joining forces with fellow Bear Jeremy Eierman to form the top power duo at the Division I level with 45 combined round-trippers this spring. Burger, the 2017 MVC Player of the Year, also leads the circuit and ranks sixth nationally in runs scored (69), while rating among the nation’s top 25 hitters in total bases (160) and RBIs (65) as well.
A semifinalist for both the Dick Howser Trophy and Golden Spikes Award, he ranks second among all active Division I hitters with 47 career home runs, while his 241 career hits is the 11th best total in Missouri State history. Additionally, he is just the second Bear to earn first-team All-America recognition in three consecutive seasons, joining Nick Petree (2011-13) for that honor.
Burger joins a distinguished list of former Bears who were chosen in the opening round of the Draft, including Jon Harris (2015), Pierce Johnson (2012), Detwiler (2007), Brett Sinkbeil (2006) and John Rheinecker (2001). His selection also extends an impressive string of talent production that has resulted in at least one Bear being picked in 31 of the last 32 MLB Drafts dating back to 1986.
Overall, the Bears have produced 136 players who have gone on to sign professional contracts over their 54 years as a varsity program, including 116 during Keith Guttin’s 35-year tenure as head coach.
The 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft will continue through Wednesday (June 14). MLB.com will also provide live pick-by-pick coverage of Rounds 3-10 on Tuesday (June 13), starting at 12 p.m. (CDT), and rounds 11-40 can be heard live on MLB.com on Wednesday, beginning at 11 a.m. (CDT).
