Former Rutgers star Ryan Lasko was selected 41st overall by the Oakland Athletics in the second round in the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft on Sunday. Lasko was taken with the second pick in the second round, making him the highest drafted Scarlet Knight since Todd Frazier was selected in the first round by the Cincinnati Reds in 2007. The slot value for Lasko as the 41st pick is $2.0949 million.
The Jackson, New Jersey native is a well balanced prospect who can hit for power and average, has above average speed and is an above average outfielder with a strong arm. He was projected and or ranked No. 28 by D1 Baseball, No. 72 by Keith Law of The Athletic, No. 78 by Prospects Live, and No. 89 by MLB.com.
Lasko finished his three years at Rutgers with a .314 batting average, 201 hits, 38 home runs, 135 RBIs, 169 runs and 35 stolen bases. His career slugging percentage is .580%, career on-base percentage is .408% with an .988 OPS.
The outfielder is third all-time in program history in home runs, tied for sixth in total bases, ninth in runs, tied for ninth in doubles, and tied for tenth in RBI. For a single season, Lasko holds the record for most at-bats, is tied for the most doubles, second in total bases, third in runs, tied for third in home runs and and eighth in hits. He is 20th in program history with 201 hits in his RU career.
After the 2023 season, Lasko tweeted a heartfelt goodbye to Rutgers after foregoing his remaining year of eligibility to enter the MLB Draft.
“Rutgers Baseball has given me everything. I’ve had the chance to play for the best coaches who gave me countless hours of instruction and support. Without them I couldn’t be the person or the player I am today. I tried to do things the right way and I had so much fun doing it.”
As a sophomore during the 2022 season, Lasko was a First Team All-Big Ten selection after leading the league with 90 hits and 81 runs scored. This past season, Lasko became the first Scarlet Knight to earn First Team All-Big Ten honors multiple times. He led Rutgers with a team-best .332 batting average, 32 extra-base hits, 73 hits, and 58 runs scored. Lasko also had 11 home runs and 52 RBIs. He finished in the top ten in the Big Ten with hits, runs, stolen bases and sacrifice flies.
Rutgers enjoyed two very successful seasons with Lasko as its biggest star. In 2022, Rutgers won a program record 44 games. The Scarlet Knights achieved a second place finish in Big Ten play, a program best. This past season, RU went 33-23 and finished in fifth place in the Big Ten.
Lasko has been a key reason for Rutgers’ resurgence under head coach Steve Owens. His legacy is secure as one of the best players in program history. Hopefully, Sunday marks the beginning of a very long and successful professional career.
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pj43
July 10, 2023 at 2:11 pm
Wishing the Jersey boy the best for a solid major league career. And the money ain’t bad either!