Dodgers take prep RHP J.T. Ginn with 1st-round pick in the MLB Draft

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers on Monday night picked high school pitcher J.T. Ginn with their first-round pick, No. 30 overall in the 2018 MLB Draft.

Ginn was ranked the 20th best draft prospect by our own David Hood, and was ranked 39th by Baseball America and 41st by Keith Law of ESPN. From BA: “He also hides the ball well in his delivery, which makes it even harder to hit his excellent fastball. He throws both a slider and curveball but the two blend together.”

The 6’2 right-hander had 69 strikeouts in 39 innings as a senior for Brandon High School in Mississippi. He is committed to go to Mississippi State.

“I’m really on the fence about it,” Ginn told the Clarion-Ledger in Mississippi. “But if the opportunity to go make some life-changing money presents itself, it’s going to be a hard decision I’ll have to make with my family.”

The No. 30 pick has a slot value of $2,275,800. The Dodgers’ total draft bonus pool of $5,288,200 is the smallest in the majors.

“He is a pitcher that we identified last summer and is an extremely athletic right-hander with plus life to his fastball, has a plus slider and a developing changeup,” said Dodgers director of amateur scouting Billy Gasparino. “We think he has all the ingredients to be a front-line starter and we are super excited about the progress he made this spring. Hopefully he can continue that with the Dodger organization.”

Benny Latino was the Dodgers’ area scout for Ginn.

Gasparino compared Ginn to Marcus Stroman and Lance McCullers, “one of those power, 6-foot righties who really have premium stuff.”

This is one of two picks the Dodgers have on Monday. Their second-round pick is No. 68 overall.