Ryan Lasko says goodbye to Rutgers

Rutgers center fielder Ryan Lasko announced on Twitter on Monday that he is leaving early to pursue his pro career. This is no surprise as the junior is a likely high draft pick expected to be selected in the first few rounds of the 2023 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. pic.twitter.com/YneHIqye4B

— Ryan Lasko (@rj_lasko1) May 29, 2023

Rutgers Baseball quoted tweeted Lasko and wrote “The definition of a program changer and someone who lived #TCD every single day. Thank you for everything, Ryan.”

TCD is a program mantra that stands for “Toughness. Commitment. Development.”

Lasko became the 20th player in program history last week to achieve the 200 hit mark in his career. He finishes his three year Rutgers run 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.

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.

With Lasko leading the way 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.

While Lasko has another year of eligibility remaining, it makes sense to leave now. Currently, Lasko is listed as the No. 86 in the prospect rankings for the 2023 Draft on MLB.com. The draft projection site Prospects Live lists Lasko at No. 72 out of 400 prospects. It was updated less than two weeks ago. Being selected in the first three rounds of the MLB Draft would be a tremendous opportunity for the Jackson, New Jersey native. Lasko 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. Good luck to him on his professional journey and stick with The Scarlet Faithful for future updates on Lasko.

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