LSU pitcher Garrett Edwards inks $500k contract with Tampa Bay Rays

Former LSU pitcher Garrett Edwards was recently selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 11th round of the 2023 MLB Draft. On Friday, he officially signed his contract with the Rays. Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline reported that Edwards officially inked his contract for $500k ($350k counts vs. pool). The right hander was pushing to be selected in the top three rounds of this year’s MLB Draft before being sidelined by Tommy John surgery.

Edwards is coming off by far his best year as a Tiger. He finished with a 4-0 record, a 1.93 ERA and a save in 10 appearances to help LSU to the national championship. It was quite the bounce-back year after a rough 2022 season in which he had a 6.75 ERA in nine games, including one start.

He suffered a season-ending elbow injury on April 7th against the South Carolina Gamecocks.

As a freshman in 2021, Edwards had a 2-2 record and a 3.41 ERA in 24 games. He started two of those matchups before cementing himself as a key piece of the LSU bullpen the next two seasons.

Edwards shutout top-ranked Arkansas in three relief innings on May 1, guiding the Tigers to a 5-4 win. He started the sixth inning and shutout the Razorbacks though the eighth inning, retiring nine of ten batters he faced. Against South Carolina on April 17th, he fired a career-best five strikeouts in 3.2 innings of work.

Garrett Edwards was one of the most gifted two-sport athletes ever to come out of the state of Louisiana

Before LSU, he was named the Louisiana Class B Player of the Year in both baseball and basketball. Edwards finished his high school basketball career as the 29th all-time leading scorer in the country. A dominant high school baseball prospect, he was also named a three-time first team All-State selection. Edwards was also named to the Southwest Louisiana All-Decade Team.

In 2019, he posted an 11-1 overall record on the mound with a 0.46 ERA, 95 strikeouts, and five walks in 75 innings of work. Edwards guided Pitkin High to the state championship game. His high school baseball coach was J.C. Holt, an All-American who was an infielder/outfielder for the Tigers from 2002-2004. A dominant player on the hardwood, Edwards was a first team All-State selection four times, and he was named the Southwest Louisiana MVP of the Decade in hoops.

On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this article.