A pair of former Aurora prep baseball standouts had their names called during the recent 2019 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Former Regis Jesuit standout outfielder Quin Cotton went in the eighth round — No. 234 overall — to the Cincinnati Reds out of Grand Canyon University. Cotton, a 5-foot-11, 200-pounder, became the program’s highest selection in the MLB draft since 2001 and he was joined by four other teammates taken in the subsequent rounds.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to be selected by the Reds,” Cotton told GCULopes.com. “I’m excited to begin my professional baseball career, as it’s a goal I’ve had for my entire life. I’m ready to begin the next step of my career with the Cincinnati Reds.”
Cotton went significantly higher than he did when he was drafted initially, when the hometown Colorado Rockies tabbed him in the 38th round (No. 1,130th overall) out of high school in 2016. He chose to go to Grand Canyon and excelled there, where he was the WAC Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2018.
He earned second-team All-WAC honors as a junior in 2019 when he started 59 of the Lopes’ 60 games and hit .331 with team-highs in hits (83) and doubles (21), while he tied for most triples with four.
The Rockies selected former Cherokee Trail standout Alex Achtermann in the 30th round with the 909th overall pick.
The 6-3, 210-pound right-handed pitcher/outfielder played his senior season at Pittsburg State University and earned first team All-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association honors.
Achtermann began his career with a redshirt year at Garden City C.C., then transferred and played two seasons at Western Nebraska Community College and spent the 2018 season at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, where he was the MIAA Player of the Year.
With Kearney cutting its baseball program, Achtermann made the move to Pittsburg State, where he finished 7-5 with a 3.51 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 89 2/3 innings pitched and he also hit .286 with four home runs, 26 RBI and 30 runs scored.
In all, nine players with Colorado ties were selected over three days of the MLB Draft.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports