Louisville outfielder Corey Ray became the first Chicago baseball player to be selected in the top 10 of the major-league draft since 1989 on Thursday when he was taken fifth overall by the Brewers.
Ray, a Simeon graduate, is the highest player drafted from Chicago since the Phillies selected Simeon’s Jeff Jackson fourth overall in the 1989 draft. The slot value for the No. 5 overall pick is $4.38 million.
The Phillies drafted California high school outfielder Mickey Moniak with the first overall pick.
Ray also becomes the highest draft pick to come out of the White Sox’s Amateur City Elite program, which was founded in 2007 to provide resources and guidance for the city’s youth baseball players and to promote the participation of African-Americans in the game.