Mississippi State outfielder Colton Ledbetter was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays with the No. 55 overall pick in the MLB Draft Sunday night.
Ledbetter, who transferred to Mississippi State last offseason after two years at Samford, did enough in one season in Starkville to prove his worth. In 53 games, he batted a team-high .320 with 12 home runs and 51 RBI.
The shifty outfielder also stole 17 bases on 18 attempts and was walked more times (47) than struck out (36). He becomes the seventh Mississippi State player to be drafted by the Rays and the first since Kamren James in 2022.
With the 55th pick, @RaysBaseball selects @HailStateBB outfielder Colton Ledbetter, No. 49 on the Top 250 Draft Prospects list.
Watch live: https://t.co/1s1j9XMnG5 pic.twitter.com/M1KL3MUCb5
— MLB Draft (@MLBDraft) July 10, 2023
Other Mississippi prospects to hear their names called in the first two rounds of the 2023 MLB Draft were Jacob Gonzalez and Kemp Alderman. Rounds 3-10 will begin Monday at 1 p.m. CT.
