Ellis County Sports Your source for Ellis County Sports News
By Travis M. Smith | Ellis County Sports
FORT WORTH — Two years in Austin did not make or keep Jared Thomas’ swing weird, but it sure did establish the “Snake Farm” and propel the left-handed slugger into the stratosphere.
Thomas became the highest-ever Ellis County player drafted in the Major League Baseball first-year player draft when the Colorado Rockies called his name with the 3rd pick of the 2nd round on June 14 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.
That’s No. 42 overall, which makes Thomas (OF/1B) the highest-ever drafted player from Ellis County, surpassing former Waxahachie catcher Corey Pointer (46th, 1994, Braves).
The lefty has wasted no time in justifying his draft position.
Thomas laced the first pitch of his professional debut into center field for the Fresno Grizzles, the low-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies in the California League. One game later, he sent a first-pitch fastball over the right-centerfield scoreboard for his first professional home run.
Five days later, Thomas lined a one-out, bases-loaded single back through the middle for a walk-off 10th-inning win. The heroics highlighted Thomas’ Chukchansi Park debut for the Grizzles on a night he finished 2-for-5 at the plate.
Thomas has now slugged a pair of home runs and 1 double to go with 4 RBIs and a .333BA through his first 8 professional games. He was, however, placed on the 7-day injured list on Aug. 22. The rookie is eligible to return Aug. 30 on the road against Visalia, amid a 6-game road trip that doesn’t bode well for a reinsertion into the lineup.
Thomas and the Grizzles close out the regular season with a 6-game home series Sept. 2-8 against St. Jose.
Though this year marked the first for the MLB to invite high-profile collegiate and high school standouts for an in-person draft, Thomas (6-2, 190) learned of his draft status while sitting on the couch at home surrounded by friends and family.
He took the dream phone call just before his on-air TV announcement and, after a brief conversation while those around him sat and stood in silent anticipation, Thomas simply said, “Rockies,” with a grin that could’ve lit any room in the neighborhood.
The room exploded in applause, excitement and love for a local product that has put in every ounce of work needed to reach this milestone.
MLB scouting grades range across a 20-80 scale. MLB.com lists Thomas’ primary skills as Hit (55), Power (45), Run (55), Arm (55), Field (60) and Overall (50).
For reference, the Texas Rangers drafted now-MLB Rookie of the Year candidate Wyatt Langford with the 4th pick in the 2023 draft. Langford entered that draft with MLB.com rankings of Hit (60), Run (55), Arm (50), Field (50) and Overall (60).
Is that to say that Thomas will be on the Rockies’ Opening Day roster in 2025? No. But it sure is fun to see that this kid has a chance to do something special as a professional baseball player for a long, long time.
“Thomas exhibited some of the best bat-to-ball skills in the Texas high school ranks in 2022, but he missed time with a wrist injury and was unsignable from a Texas commitment, so he went undrafted,” reads the MLB.com scouting report. “Two years later, he’s one of the best pure hitters and top sophomore-eligible prospects in the 2024 Draft. He’s adding to his value by showing he can play center field in addition to first base for the Longhorns.”
“Thomas has good feel for the barrel and doesn’t try to do too much at the plate, letting his pretty left-handed swing work for him,” the report continued. “He has traded some contact for power this spring, hitting the ball harder and showing that he should be able to provide 15-20 homers per season. He offers one of the higher floors among college bats and his ceiling continues to rise as he displays more pop.”
“To complement his hitting ability, Thomas offers several other promising tools,” the MLB.com scouting report continued. “He’s a solid runner, and quicker once he gets going, though he’s not much of a base stealer. He provides a plus glove at first base and also is a solid defender with arm strength to match in center field.”
For those unaware, MLB and the MLB Players’ Association reached terms in their most recent collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to assign “slot values” (signing bonuses) with each pick of the first-year player draft. This ultimately means that front offices are limited to paying over-slot, under-slot and draft entirety.
Thomas’ 42nd overall slot carried a signing bonus value of $2,224,700. He signed with the Rockies for an in-county record-setting $2M signing bonus, which tied for 54th overall in this year’s class.
Chase Burns (2nd overall, RHP, Cincinnati) and Charlie Condon (3rd overall, OF, Colorado) were the highest-paid players in the 2024 draft, both receiving a $9.25M signing bonus. Scroll below for a breakdown of others and their signing bonuses drafted above Thomas.
According to The University of Texas Athletics, Thomas led the Longhorns offensively, batting .349 with 15 doubles, 16 homers and 18 stolen bases in 2024. The sophomore started all 60 games in the leadoff spot in the order and split time defensively between first base and the outfield.
In addition to being the team’s leading hitter, Thomas led the team with 61 runs scored, a .434 on-base percentage and 26 multiple-hit games. Thomas had a hit in 47 of the 60 games and scored at least one run in 41 of the 60 contests.
For his career in burnt orange, the Waxahachie product played in 124 games and batted .336 with 30 doubles, 20 homers, 115 runs scored and 28 stolen bases. And, with Thomas’ selection, at least one Longhorn has been drafted every year since the Major League Baseball draft began in 1965.
Ennis left-handed hurler Kaden Bragg was previously the most recent Ellis County product drafted. Bragg was selected by the Minnesota Twins with the 13th pick of the 17th round (507th overall) in the 2023 MLB Draft.
Russell Smith, a 6-foot-9 left-handed pitcher from Texas Christian University and 2017 Midlothian graduate, was selected by the San Diego Padres in the second round (51st overall) of the 2021 MLB Draft. Smith, now the third-highest local talent ever drafted, was first selected in the 38th round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs while still throwing no-hitters for the Panthers.
Without further ado, below is a breakdown of the top-54 signing bonuses inked following the 2024 MLB Draft:
Rank | Player | Pos | Team | Round | Pick | Bonus
T1 Chase Burns RHP CIN 1 2 $9,250,000
T1 Charlie Condon OF COL 1 3 $9,250,000
3 Travis Bazzana 2B CLE 1 1 $8,950,000
4 Hagen Smith LHP CWS 1 5 $8,000,000
5 Jac Caglianone TWP KC 1 6 $7,497,500
6 Nick Kurtz 1B OAK 1 4 $7,000,000
7 JJ Wetherholt SS STL 1 7 $6,900,000
8 Konnor Griffin SS PIT 1 9 $6,532,025
9 Bryce Rainer SS DET 1 11 $5,797,500
10 Seaver King SS WSH 1 10 $5,150,000
11 Cam Smith 3B CHI 1 14 $5,070,700
12 Braden Montgomery OF BOS 1 12 $5,000,000
13 Christian Moore 2B LAA 1 8 $4,997,500
14 Jurrangelo Cijntje SHP SEA 1 15 $4,880,900
15 James Tibbs III OF SF 1 13 $4,747,500
16 Theo Gillen OF TB 1 18 $4,370,400
17 Trey Yesavage RHP TOR 1 20 $4,175,000
18 Vance Honeycutt OF BAL 1 22 $4,000,000
•
•
T30 Malcolm Moore C TEX 1 30 $3,000,000
T30 Tommy White 3B OAK 2 40 $3,000,000
•
•
50 JD Dix SS ARI 1S 35 $2,150,000
51 Blake Burke 1B MIL 1S 34 $2,100,000
52 Jacob Cozart C CLE 2 48 $2,050,000
53 Jonathan Santucci LHP NY 2 46 $2,031,700
T54 Jared Thomas OF COL 2 42 $2,000,000
T54 Payton Tolle LHP BOS 2 50 $2,000,000
T54 Gage Jump LHP OAK 2S 73 $2,000,000
T54 Joey Oakie RHP CLE 3 84 $2,000,000
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Travis M. Smith, @Travis5mith
tsmith@elliscosports.com
