West Orange's Chris Seise drafted in 1st round by Texas Rangers -- Observer Preps

For the second time in as many years, a recently graduated senior infielder from the West Orange High baseball team has been drafted by the Texas Rangers.

In the 2016 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft it was third baseman Kole Enright, taken in the third round.

This time around, in 2017, it was shortstop Chris Seise in the first round, taken with the 29th pick, overall.

Hailing from Winter Garden, Seise had been committed to play college baseball at UCF, but now figures to sign a contract that Baseball America has slotted for a projected signing bonus of $2,238,900. 

The former Warriors stands tall at 6-foot-3, which West Orange head coach Jesse Marlo says is part of what appealed to pro scouts about him.

"There’s not a lot of ballplayers that look like him and run like him," Marlo said. "He can stay at shortstop and that’s probably the most attractive thing about him. He projects to be a guy that can play shortstop and possibly hit 20 or 30 home runs."

As a senior for the Warriors this past spring, Seise led West Orange in several statistical categories, including average (.444), hits (40), triples (five), home runs (eight), RBIs (29) and runs scored (37).

Seise's first-round selection makes him the highest draft pick in program history for West Orange.

Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected].