LSU LHP Gage Jump taken 73rd overall in MLB Draft
A third Tiger is off the board as LSU pitcher Gage Jump was selected Sunday night in Competitive Balance Round B – in between the second and third rounds – of the MLB Draft (73rd pick overall) by the Oakland Athletics.
Rounds 1-2 of the draft were conducted Sunday night in Fort Worth, Texas. Rounds 3-10 will be held starting at 1 p.m. CT Monday, and the draft will conclude Tuesday with Rounds 11-20 beginning at 1 p.m. CT. The draft rounds on Monday and Tuesday may be viewed on MLB.com.
Jump, a product of Aliso, Calif., recorded a 6-2 mark and a 3.47 ERA in 83.0 innings this season (17 appearances, 15 starts) with 22 walks and 101 strikeouts while limiting opponents to a .218 batting average.
Jump finished No. 8 in the SEC in ERA and No. 8 in opponent batting average. He was voted to the SEC All-Tournament Team after defeating Georgia, working 7.0 innings and allowing one run on four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.
He was voted SEC Pitcher of the Week on April 22 after a brilliant outing on April 19 at Missouri, as he fired a seven-inning complete game win and limited Mizzou to one run on three hits with one walk and a career-high 14 strikeouts.
Jump retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced at Missouri, including 10 by strikeout. His 14 strikeouts marked the most by an LSU pitcher since Ty Floyd recorded 17 strikeouts versus Florida in the 2023 College World Series.
“He’s been great for a while,” Johnson said after the win over Georgia in the SEC tournament. “He’s one of the best high school pitchers I’ve ever seen. He picked UCLA over Arizona, which was a gut punch because I believed he would be as great as what everybody saw today. Then, he only had 14 innings before getting hurt. Then he came here in the fall and was tough to deal with for our players, then I don’t think he allowed a run in the non-conference. The start of SEC play was an adjustment because it was the first time somebody punched back and there was traffic on the bases. Once he got past the Mississippi State and Arkansas starts, he’s been elite ever since. There’s no doubt that he’s one of the best pitchers in the country.”
