DJ Stewart: "I cried, this is something you dream of your entire life"

Florida State outfielder DJ Stewart said he cried when he was drafted with the 25th pick in round one by the Orioles last night.

"It was an awesome feeling, just a lot of emotions throughout the day, but to finally hear my name called, I cried because this is something that you dream of your entire life. To see your name come up is just awesome, I am happy Baltimore selected me," Stewart said in a Seminoles press release.

"It's always exciting whenever you have the opportunity to pursue your dream and I am happy to get this opportunity with Baltimore. I can't wait to see what happens next."

Stewart, 21, batted .318/.500/.593 with 15 home runs, 59 RBIs and 62 runs scored in 64 games in 2015 as a junior. The 6-foot, 225 pound left-handed hitting outfielder was the 2014 ACC Player of the Year and a 2014 All-ACC first team selection after leading the conference in batting average (.351), slugging percentage (.557), and OBP (.472) as a sophomore. He also played in 28 games with the USA Collegiate National Team in the summer of 2014.

"Being at Florida State helped me grow," Stewart said. "I grew so much not only as a baseball player, but also as a person. It taught me daily life lessons that I can use throughout my entire life. The guys that I have met at Florida State will always be lifelong friends and I am looking forward to seeing what everyone will do next in their careers and to see everyone grow as I have."

Stewart said it got a little crazy about the time his name was called by the Orioles.

"Everyone was ecstatic; everyone screamed. I was actually on the phone with the Baltimore guys as they were putting the pick in, so I kind of gave it away saying, 'Thank you for the opportunity.' They were anticipating my name being called and when they did, I didn't see my name, I just heard everyone yell. I was holding my little brother, tears in his eyes, just to see that, to see how I influenced him makes my day," Stewart said.

Some scouting reports expressed concerns about Stewart's very low crouch in his batting stance, but O's scouting director Gary Rajsich said he didn't have any concerns. Stewart was talking about it on a conference call early this morning with Baltimore reporters.

"It is something I started doing my freshman year of his school," he said. "I've always had kind of an open stance. The crouch allows me to see the strike zone very well. Feel like my eye level in the zone, I can really concentrate on hitting good pitches, being that low in the zone. I can take balls I should not swing at. Have developed it over the years and try to use that to get my entire body into the ball and generate as much power as I can for my body."

As a high school student at The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla., Stewart won a combined five state championships (three in football, two in baseball) and was named the 2012 Player of the Year in baseball for the North Florida region. His father, Reggie Stewart, was a 13th round selection of the San Diego Padres in 1991 as a switch-hitting outfielder and played three minor league seasons in the San Diego organization.