Saint Louis Shortstop Alec Sole Selected by Tampa Bay Rays in MLB Draft

Saint Louis shortstop Alec Sole has been selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 18th round of the 2014 MLB Draft (pick 547 overall). Sole, a junior shortstop originally from Holbrook, New York, significantly boosted his draft stock with a fantastic 2014 season.

Sole has plenty of skills to be a successful shortstop at the next level. His defensive range is considered to be very good, and he’s got a very strong right arm— he pitched in high school and was listed as a pitcher on SLU’s roster despite never making an appearance on the mound during his college career. He’s got a 6-foot-2, 200-pound build that could continue to fill out a bit as he develops.

As a hitter, Sole improved every year and was certainly at his best during his junior year. Over 45 games and 179 at-bats, Sole led the Billikens with a .352 average and .419 on-base percentage. Though he’s not considered to be a power hitter, he picked up his first college home run and drove in 29 runs as well. Perhaps most impressive was his plate discipline, as he struck out only 19 times all season.

For your viewing pleasure, here’s some footage of Sole from his 2013 summer league season: