Orioles select three players on day one of the 2019 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft

The Baltimore Orioles tonight selected catcher Adley Rutschman from Oregon State University with the first overall selection of the 2019 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. The Orioles also selected infielder Gunnar Henderson at No. 42 overall from John T. Morgan (Ala.) Academy and outfielder Kyle Stowers at No. 71 overall from Stanford University (Calif.).

Rutschman, 21, led all of Division I with a .575 on-base percentage and 76 walks during his junior season. He was named the 2019 PAC-12 Player of the Year, PAC-12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year, All-PAC-12 First-Team, and PAC-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention. Rutschman was also named the 2019 Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year as well as a Collegiate Baseball First-Team All-American. He is one of four finalists for the 2019 Golden Spikes Award, which honors the top amateur baseball player in the nation. He was ranked as the 2019 No. 1 overall draft prospect by Baseball America and MLB.com. He has been named a finalist for the 2019 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award and a Semifinalist for the 2019 Dick Howser Trophy, regarded by many as college baseball's most prestigious award. As a sophomore in 2018, Rutschman helped lead Oregon State to their third NCAA Championship. He was named the College World Series Most Outstanding Player and set a College World Series record with 17 hits. He set the Oregon State single-season record with 102 hits and 83 RBI. During his sophomore year, Rutschman was named a D1Baseball.com and American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) First-Team All-American, a Second-Team All-American by Baseball America and Perfect Game, and a Third-Team All-American by National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Collegiate Baseball. He was named to the 2018 All-PAC-12 First Team, PAC-12 All-Defensive Team, and a PAC-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention. Rutschman was a 2018 Dick Howser Trophy and Johnny Bench Award Semifinalist. As a true freshman in 2017, Rutschman was named All-PAC-12 Conference Honorable Mention. Rutschman becomes the first catcher selected No. 1 overall since 2001, when Joe Mauer was selected by the Minnesota Twins.

Henderson, 17, was named the Alabama Gatorade State Player of the Year in 2019 after hitting .559/.641/1.225 (57-for-102) with 17 doubles, nine triples, 11 home runs, 69 runs, 75 RBI, and 28 stolen bases in 32 games for John T. Morgan Academy in Selma, Ala. He helped lead the Senators to the 2019 Alabama Independent Schools Association Class AAA State Championship Series. He was named to the 2019 Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason All-American First Team and Southeast-All Region First Team. Perfect Game ranked Henderson as the No. 1 player in the state of Alabama in 2019. As a junior, he was named to the 2018 Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason All-American First Team. He started in the 2018 Under Armour All-American Game. He was also named a Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason All-American Honorable Mention in 2017. Henderson was a three-year letterwinner in basketball and a one-year letterwinner in football. He was ranked as the No. 27 overall draft prospect by MLB.com and No. 30 by Baseball America.

Stowers, 21, batted .304/.370/.513 (58-for-191) with 17 doubles, seven home runs, 35 runs, and 35 RBI in 49 games for Stanford University during his junior season. He was named to the 2019Baseball America Preseason First-Team All-America. As a sophomore, he was a 2018 All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention and finished second on the team in home runs (10), slugging percentage (.510), and RBI (42) while starting in all 58 games. Following the season, he ranked as the No. 14 prospect in the Cape Cod League after hitting .326/361/.565 with six home runs in 34 games for the Falmouth Commodores. A graduate of Christian High School in El Cajon, Calif., Stowers helped lead the team to two league championships and one state title, and he was twice named First-Team All-California Interscholastic Federation. He was ranked as the No. 78 overall draft prospect by MLB.com and the No. 102 prospect by Baseball America.

The Draft will continue Tuesday, June 4, on MLB.com with rounds 3-10, beginning at 1:05 p.m., and conclude on Wednesday, June 5, on MLB.com with rounds 11-40 starting at 12:05 p.m.