MacArthur’s Jung, Boerne’s Phillips headline locals selected in 2022 MLB Draft

Every baseball player dreams of playing in the Major Leagues, and two talents from the greater San Antonio area took another step closer towards achieving that goal on Sunday night.

MacArthur High School grad and Texas Tech standout Jace Jung was selected No. 12 overall by the Detroit Tigers in the 2022 MLB Draft. Jace was the first Texas-born player taken in this year’s draft, and he now joins his older brother Josh in the big leagues after Josh was taken No. 8 overall by the Texas Rangers in 2019. In his three seasons with the Red Raiders, Jace hit .328 with 39 home runs and 126 walks as a part of two NCAA Tournament runs.

Last year, he hit .337 with 14 long balls and 57 RBI. His position has been a question mark for scouts, but most seem to place him at second or third base. In 2021, he earned Big 12 Player of the Year honors and was a first team All-American.

Boerne’s Cole Phillips was taken No. 57 overall by the defending World Series Champion Atlanta Braves. Phillips had previously been committed to play college ball at Arkansas and was projected by many experts to be a first round pick. He was ranked as a top-10 pitching prospect in the nation heading into the draft.

Last year, Phillips posted a 4-0 record with 42 strikeouts, only seven hits allowed and no earned runs, but unfortunately the Greyhounds star underwent Tommy John surgery to repair ligament damage in his elbow on March 29. He is the 11th student from Boerne ISD selected in an MLB Draft.

Three more locals were selected in the MLB Draft on Monday. With the 164th overall pick, the Tampa Bay Rays selected former Madison High School standout Jalen Battles. In two seasons at Arkansas, Battles batted .279 with 16 homers and 88 RBI. Another Boerne native Doug Hodo III was selected with the first pick of the sixth round at 167th overall by the Baltimore Orioles. Hodo proved crucial to the Longhorns’ run to the NCAA Tournament this year. He hit .292 with 16 long balls and 95 RBI over the course of three seasons at Texas.

Last but not least, Johnson High School grad Dalton Shuffield was taken 294th overall by the Minnesota Twins. Shuffield played five collegiate seasons at Texas State, hitting 20 homers with 117 RBI and racking up 42 stolen bases. He was named the Sun Belt Player of the Year in 2022.