By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
The Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday selected Johnson High School shortstop Kayson Cunningham with the 18th pick on the first round of the Major League Baseball draft.
Cunningham, who has committed to the University of Texas, could command a signing bonus of more than $4 million to turn pro. The value of the 18th pick is $4.58 million, according to the mlb.com website.
Regarded as possibly the best pure hitter among high school prospects in this year’s draft, the 5-foot-10, 182-pounder swings the bat from the left side.
He hit .417 for Team USA during the 18-and-under World Cup qualifier in Panama last summer.
Cunningham slapped the go-ahead hit in the gold medal-clinching victory, and was named as the tournament MVP, according to a story published on the Diamondbacks’ website.
He was also USA Baseball’s Player of the Year in 2024, and this past spring, he was named Gatorade’s Texas High School Player of the Year after hitting .509 in his senior year at Johnson.
According to research conducted by The JB Replay, Cunningham is believed to be the 14th player from the San Antonio area to be selected in the first round of the MLB draft, which started in 1965.
In the draft’s earliest years, the highest pick from the Alamo City was John Langerhans, from South San High School, who in 1968 was taken 36th overall on the second round by the Minnesota Twins.
Infielder Roger Metzger from Holy Cross High School became the first player from the San Antonio area taken in the first round. He was selected 16th overall by the Chicago Cubs in 1969 out of St. Edward’s University. Lee infielder Pat Rockett, who went to the Atlanta Braves in 1973, was the city’s first top 10 pick.
Rockett went No. 10 to the Atlanta Braves in 1973.
Cunningham joins Rockett, John Gibbons, Tyler Gonzales and Forrest Whitley as San Antonio-area players drafted in the first round out of high school.
San Antonio-area players, through the years, selected in the first round:
2025 – Infielder Kayson Cunningham, Johnson High School, 18th overall, to the Arizona Diamondbacks
2022 – Infielder Jace Jung, MacArthur High School, 12th overall, out of Texas Tech University, to the Detroit Tigers
2020 – Pitcher Asa Lacy, Kerrville Tivy, fourth overall, out of Texas A&M, to the Kansas City Royals
2020 — Shortstop Jordan Westburg, New Braunfels, 30th overall, out of Mississippi State, to the Baltimore Orioles (competitive balance Round A).
2019 – Infielder Josh Jung, MacArthur, eighth overall, out of Texas Tech, to the Texas Rangers
2016 – Pitcher Forrest Whitley, Alamo Heights, 17th overall, out of high school, to the Houston Astros
2012 – Tyler Gonzales, Madison, 60th overall (supplemental first round), out of high school, to the Toronto Blue Jays
1997 – Third baseman Brandon Larson, Holmes, 14th overall out of LSU, to the Cincinnati Reds
1997 – Outfielder/first baseman Lance Berkman, New Braunfels Canyon, 16th overall out of Rice University, to the Houston Astros
1989 – Outfielder/first baseman Scott Bryant, Churchill, 20th overall out of the University of Texas, to the Cincinnati Reds
1984 – Pitcher Norm Charlton, Madison, 28th overall, out of Rice University, to the Montreal Expos
1980 – Catcher John Gibbons, MacArthur, 24th overall, out of high school, to the New York Mets
1973 – Infielder Pat Rockett, Lee, 10th overall, out of high school, to the Atlanta Braves
1969 — Infielder Roger Metzger, Holy Cross, 16th overall, out of St. Edward’s University, to the Chicago Cubs