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Medford’s Melton selected by Astros By Kris Henry Jul 17, 2022 10:27 PM A A South Medford grad chosen 64th overall by Houston in MLB draft Jacob Melton had waited all his life to realize a dream, a few extra hours didn’t matter all that much Sunday for the former South Medford High standout. Melton was selected 64th overall in the second round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Houston Astros, making him the highest draft pick out of Southern Oregon since ex-North Medford High pitcher Braden Shipley was chosen 15th overall in 2013 by the Arizona Diamondbacks. “It was awesome,” Melton said of hearing his name called by Houston. “To have an opportunity to go to the Astros, one of the better teams for player development, is super cool for sure. It was not exactly how I thought it was going to pan out tonight but I can’t be too disappointed in the way that everything worked out and having an opportunity.” Melton’s selection came about five hours after the draft began with the selection of shortstop Jackson Holliday first overall by Baltimore, and beyond most national projections. He was listed as No. 39 on the MLB.com Top 250 Draft Prospects list. “I was starting to get stressed out,” Melton said of his mood following the draft with teammates and friends in Corvallis, “because I had some talk about the late 20s and the supplemental round. Kind of when we started rolling through the second round and I hadn’t really heard anything, I was starting to get a little stressed out for sure.” Melton began his baseball pursuits at age 4 and has shined at every level, twice earning all-state honors at South Medford before earning all-NWAC Southern Region first team and Gold Glove recognition at Linn-Benton Community College. He joined Oregon State in a dream scenario in 2020 and has enjoyed a meteoric rise in terms of national recognition with the Beavers, who won 48 games this past season and advanced to the NCAA Super Regional. The 21-year-old center fielder, who can also play first base, is coming off a prolific campaign that saw him garner Pac-12 Conference player of the year honors. Melton batted .360 with 17 home runs and 21 stolen bases, and also set an OSU single-season record with 175 total bases. The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder also tied the school record of 83 RBIs set by Adley Rutschman (2018). Melton and left-handed pitcher Cooper Hjerpe became the fifth and sixth unanimous first-team All-Americans in Oregon State history after historic seasons in 2022. Hjerpe, who went 11-2 with a 2.53 ERA this spring, was drafted 22nd overall by the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday. Hjerpe became the first Beaver to lead the nation in strikeouts with a school-record 161, striking out 10 or more in eight of his 17 starts. Most projections had the OSU tandem grouped within a few slots of one another when it came to draft rankings, which is why Melton found himself a little on edge as selections came and went without his name being called. “I talked to my advisor about it,” said the 2018 South Medford grad, “and he was saying that some of it kind of boiled down to teams not expecting me to be there when I was and already having deals in place with high school guys. It just kind of worked out that way and kept flipping a little bit when some other guys lasted a little longer, but like I said, man, I can’t be too disappointed. It’s a lifelong dream just to have the opportunity to go out and play professional baseball so I’m definitely going to make the most of it.” The approximate pick value at No. 64 is $1.1 million. The Astros earlier used pick No. 28 on Tennessee outfielder Drew Gilbert (No. 32 in the MLB.com rankings), and wrapped up Day 1 by selecting right-handed pitcher Andrew Taylor at No. 80. “The main thing is just having the opportunity and getting to go out and play,” said Melton. “We were talking here earlier that once everybody signs and starts playing, everybody’s on the same field competing for the same thing. I really can’t be too disappointed in the way things turned out. I’m super excited to have the opportunity and definitely excited to get going.” As the second round drew closer to the end, Melton said he had a suspicion the Astros might be calling at pick No. 64. “They were one of the teams I was in contact with,” he said, “and I had met with their scouting director so I had an idea there was some interest there and there would be some possibility that I would go to them. I’m just excited to have the opportunity to play for such a great organization that does so well with player development. I think honestly I got really lucky to go where I did.” Melton still has the option of returning to Oregon State for a senior season but given his high draft choice, it’s expected that he and Houston will come to a contract agreement in the coming days. “I honestly don’t even know yet,” Melton said of what comes next after Sunday’s selection. “I’m just kind of waiting for people to tell me what to do and where to go. I think it’s going to be kind of a hectic couple of days coming up here for sure.” Melton was also named to the Pac-12 Conference’s spring academic honor roll, which goes to student-athletes with at least a 3.3 cumulative GPA. Melton is a Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences student at OSU. Melton, who was a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, went a perfect 7-for-7 in first-team All-American honors with recognition by Baseball America, the College Baseball Foundation, Collegiate Baseball, D1Baseball.com, the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Perfect Game. In 102 games played Oregon State over three seasons — including a 2020 campaign shortened by COVID — Melton batted .364 overall with 27 doubles, seven triples, 23 home runs and 108 RBIs with 29 stolen bases. His .660 slugging percentage is now the program standard. In other picks Sunday, Oregon shortstop Josh Kasevich was tabbed 60th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays and Oregon State outfielder Justin Boyd was selected 73rd overall by the Cincinnati Reds. The MLB draft continues Monday and Tuesday. Have a local story idea? Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, [email protected], www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry Medford’s Jacob Melton was selected 64th overall by the Houston Astros in the Major League Baseball draft on Sunday.