Dalton Reeves officially lands pro ball deal, calls it 'a dream come true'
All Dalton Reeves wanted was an opportunity to show what he can do at the next level. And now, he’s got one.
After not being selected in the 2024 MLB Draft, Reeves landed a deal with the Lincoln SaltDogs in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which is an official Partner League of Major League Baseball, on Thursday.
“I’ve always dreamt of playing professional baseball. I’m really excited to get to Lincoln and be a SaltDog,” Reeves told GamecockCentral. “Their environment and fans are amazing and they play in one of the most competitive MLB-Partnered Independent Leagues. So I’m gonna be in a really good spot to perform and get scouted by MLB teams.”
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In his lone season at South Carolina, the fifth-year catcher put up respectable numbers in limited playing time. He burst onto the scene after a two-homer game versus his old team, Presbyterian, on March 26. After that, he became a regular in the starting lineup, splitting time at DH and behind the plate. In 35 games, he hit .294/.370/.597 with 11 homers and 34 RBI. He also finished with a .967 OPS, third-best behind Cole Messina and Ethan Petry.
Behind the dish, he caught in 14 games with Messina making majority of the starts in 2024. But when he did play, he did a fine job, making two errors and owning a .983 fielding percentage.
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“To say I get paid to do what I love is just a dream come true,” Reeves said. “The coaching staff is great and I’m sure the guys will be too.”
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So far this season, the SaltDogs are 23-42, good for last place in the American Association West Division standings.
Regardless, Reeves is thrilled to continue to play the game he loves, now at the professional level. He’ll join the club as it comes off the heels of the league’s All-Star break earlier this week. The SaltDogs’ regular season concludes on Sept. 2.
“I’m just going to go and do what I’ve always done: be the best teammate I can be, work as hard as I can, have as much fun as possible, and always remain faithful in the Lord that he has a plan and this is just another step in that plan,” he said.
