ARLINGTON, Texas _ The A's went with a quarterback as their first-round pick in the draft. No, you did not read that wrong.
Kyler Murray was the A's selection with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2018 MLB draft, the same Murray who was the backup to star quarterback and 2017 Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield at University of Oklahoma last season.
Murray, 20, was expected to enter the upcoming football season as the front-runner to take over as the starting quarterback at Oklahoma, with Mayfield even telling Bleacher Report in a recent interview, "He's going to break all my records. He's that good."
But the 5-foot-11, 195-pounder might be better suited for baseball, a sport he's also talented in. The outfielder slashed .296/.398/.556 with 10 home runs, 13 doubles, 3 triples, 47 RBIs and 46 runs scored in 51 games with Oklahoma this past season.
Murray also spent Summer 2017 playing in the Cape Cod League, where the top college players in the country assemble for a two-month season, and hit .261 with 10 home runs, 13 doubles, 3 triples, 53 RBIs and 62 runs scored in 47 at-bats.
One professional Murray has been compared to is Boston Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr, an athletic, premier outfielder with double-digit power numbers.
Murray is expected to play football this upcoming season, where he could potentially take over for a Heisman Trophy winner at one of the top college football programs in the country, and then focus on baseball after. Taking him this high in the draft, the A's have to be confident they can actually get him to sign.
Prior to playing at Oklahoma, Murray attended Texas A&M in 2015, also playing football and baseball. He transferred to Oklahoma for the 2016 and sat out the football season.
Murray comes from an athletic family. His father, Kevin, played quarterback at Texas A&M from 1983-86 and was inducted into the Texas A&M Hall of Fame. He even had a brief stint with the San Francisco 49ers, signing with the team as a free agent in 1988 before retiring shortly after due to ankle injuries. His uncle, Calvin, was a 1992 first round selection by the San Francisco Giants and spent five years in the big leagues.
The A's last held the No. 9 pick in 1999, selecting Barry Zito out of USC. That pick obviously worked out well.
