Jaden Hill missed the majority of his junior season with LSU baseball after an elbow injury that required surgery, but that didn't scare off the Colorado Rockies in the MLB draft.
He, fellow Tigers pitcher Landon Marceaux and four LSU commitments were selected on Day 2 of the MLB draft.
The right-hander Hill was selected No. 44 overall, following his junior season with the Tigers. He went 2-3 with a 6.67 ERA over seven starts before being lost for the season. Hill tore his his ulnar collateral ligament in April while pitching against Vanderbilt, leaving after 1.1 innings before being declared out for the season.
Hill underwent Tommy John surgery, with the normal recovery time ranging from 9 months to a full year. The earliest range of that recovery would put him back in action in January. He shared a montage of his injury, highlights and workouts ahead of the draft, which began Sunday with the first round.
Hill was the first LSU player selected in this year's 20-round draft, but he could still opt to return to school for his senior season. That was the case in 2018, when the Arkansas native was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 38th round, but instead opted to enroll at LSU.
The man who stepped up as LSU's ace in Hill's absence was the next former Tiger to come off the board. The junior right-hander was picked in the third round by the Los Angeles Angels, No. 80 overall.
Marceaux ended 2021 with a middling 7-7 record, but with a 2.54 ERA over a mountain of innings to tell the real story. The veteran right-hander took the loss against Gonzaga in LSU's opening loss at the Eugene regional, but came back on short rest and in relief three days later to close out Oregon for the Tigers' regional title from the loser's bracket.
Marceaux logged 116 strikeouts in 102.2 innings pitched in his junior season.
Four other players LSU will have its eyes on have never played a game in a Tigers jersey, but have planned to do so beginning next season.
- Ben Kudrna, RHP, Blue Valley Southwest High School, Overland Park, Kansas ... picked in Round 2, No. 43 overall by the Kansas City Royals)
- Carter Jensen, catcher, Park Hill High School, Kansas City, Missouri ... picked in Round 3, No. 78 overall by Kansas City Royals
- Brock Selvidge, LSP, Hamilton High School, Chandler, Arizona ... picked in Round 3, No. 92 overall by New York Yankees
- Ian Moller, catcher, Wahlert High School, Dubuque, Iowa ... picked in Round 4, No. 103 overall by Texas Rangers
Rounds 11-20 of the MLB draft will be held Tuesday.
