Tigers draft picks: Catcher Morgan taken in third round

Detroit — The Tigers have few issues at catcher at the major-league level, but you can never have enough.

And so, on the second day of the Major League Baseball draft Tuesday, they kicked things off by taking right-handed-hitting catcher Joey Morgan from the University of Washington.

Morgan, a junior, is a Johnny Bench semifinalist who batted .324 with five homers, 45 RBIs and a .500 slugging percentage this past season.

The 6-foot, 183-pounder also threw out 13 of 27 would-be base-stealers.

DIBaseball.com ranked him the top catcher in the nation earlier this season, and he earned All-Pac 12 honors and was a second-team All-American, by Baseball America’s standards.

What they’re saying: Tigers’ top pick Alex Faedo

In high school in Oregon, he was his division’s state player of the year.

With the 95th overall pick, it’s the earliest the Tigers have drafted a catcher since selecting James McCann 76th in 2011.

Detroit took two position players in its first three picks, a rarity for a team that’s long loved high-octane arms early in the draft. Morgan joins second-round pick Reynaldo Rivera, a big, slugging, left-hander from a junior college in Florida.

With the first pick, the Tigers drafted Florida right-hander Alex Faedo.

Through 10 picks, they've taken just one high-school player.

TIGERS DRAFT PICKS

1. Alex Faedo, RHP, 6-5/225, Florida

2. Reynaldo Rivera, OF/1B, 6-6/250, Chipola College, Fla.

3. Joey Morgan, C, 6-0/185, Washington

4. Gio Arriera, RHP, 6-2/220, Palm Beach State College, Fla.

5. Sam McMillan, C, 5-10/165, Suwannee High School, Fla.

6. Dane Myers, RHP, 6-2/205, Rice

7. Brad Bass, RHP, 6-6/253, Notre Dame

8. Max Green, LHP, 6-1/175, Pepperdine

9. Luke Burch, CF, 6-2/185, Kent State

10. Garrett McCain, CF, 6-0/180, Oklahoma State

The draft wraps up Wednesday, with rounds 11 through 40.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

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