Monday night (June 4), the first day of the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft was held in New York City. The 30 teams drafted for the first and second rounds, plus the associated competitive balance and free agent compensation sandwich rounds.

Nine players with direct ties to the state of Texas were drafted on Monday -- five from Texas high schools, and four from Texas colleges.

Texas Tech left fielder Grant Little was drafted by the San Diego Padres in Competitive Balance Round B, which was a grouping of six picks immediately after the second round. Little was the 74th overall selection.

Little is officially listed on MLB.com as a 6'1", 185-lb left fielder, slotted for an $812,000 signing bonus. According to Padres.com, in addition to playing left field, Little may also play some shortstop, his original position at Texas Tech, in the minor leagues.

Little is the rare draft-eligible sophomore from a four-year university (he's over the age of 21 according to an old draft profile on PerfectGame.org), and didn't even have profile listed at MLB.com.

Little is the highest Red Raider drafted since 2012, when Barrett Barnes was taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the 45th pick. Little now has through mid-August to decide whether or not he will sign with the Padres, or return to Texas Tech for his junior season.

Through this past weekend's NCAA Regional, in 2018 Little has played in 59 games with 221 at-bats, 84 hits, 70 RBI, 12 home runs, 40 walks, 32 strikeouts and a .380 batting average.

Day 2 of the 2018 MLB Draft is Tuesday, with the Detroit Tigers having the first pick in Round 3.

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