AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Tampa Bay Rays went the high school route with the 18th pick of the MLB Draft in selecting Westlake’s Theo Gillen.
Gillen had been consistently projected to go in the first round and is thrilled with where he landed.
“What’s really not to like?” said Gillen about the Rays organization. “They have a great department of scouting. They always are bringing in the best talent. There’s a reason they have one of the best systems in the MLB.”
A Texas baseball commit, Gillen made clear the plan is to go to the Rays. He did mention the difficulty in choosing a different route than going to be a Longhorn.
“It’s not as easy as it looks,” said Gillen about the decision to go the professional route. Longhorn nation runs strong. I grew up here. It’s in my blood. It’s burnt orange. It’s still going to be running through me. I’ll still be here in my off time.”
Surrounded by friends and family, Gillen felt the support on draft night. The draft can be a whirlwind and it sure sounds like it was for the now-former Chaparral.
“[The Rays representative] goes ‘Do you want to be a Ray?’ And I said ‘yes sir’ and from there on it was a blackout. It was just crazy. So many emotions running through my head.”
The infielder and outfielder says he hopes to get going with the organization as soon as possible.