Tyler Stephenson’s high school teammates were just as excited as him when the Cincinnati Reds called to inform him they selected him with the 11th overall pick of the first round of the first-year player draft Monday.
“They dog piled on me,” Stephenson said. “It was awesome.”
Stephenson waited for the call in his living room in Kennesaw, Ga., with family and friends and his Kennesaw Mountain High School teammates.
The 18-year-old, 6-foot-4, 225-pound catcher was rated the 15th-best prospect in the draft by “Baseball America.” He hit .415 with eight home runs and 25 RBIs as a senior.
Stephenson has signed with Georgia Tech but wants to sign quickly with the Reds.
“I’m hoping to kind of get it over with and sign and see what the future holds,” Stephenson said.
Stephenson is the fifth catcher the Reds have drafted in the first round since 1965. They selected Dan LaMar in 1979, Dan Wilson in 1990, Devin Mesoraco in 2007 and Yasmani Grandal in 2010
Stephenson grew up an Atlanta Braves fan. His hometown is located about 27 miles northwest of Atlanta. He said Dansby Swanson, the Vanderbilt shortstop drafted No. 1 overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks, grew up four miles from him.
Stephenson went in the first round because of his power and size, but he gained fame in May when a video of him flipping a bat after a home run went viral. Almost three million people had viewed a vine of the video as of Monday.
“I didn’t think it’d be this crazy,” Stephenson said. “I didn’t think it would be this worldwide known.”
