WEYMOUTH, Mass. (June 12, 2020) -- The Futures Collegiate Baseball League added another name to its list of former players selected during Major League Baseball’s First-Year Player Draft on Thursday night. Just a two-day event this year, the Draft concluded with the second through fifth rounds.
Vanderbilt University junior Mason Hickman was the second former Futures Leaguer drafted in 2020. The 2017 Martha’s Vineyard Sharks pitcher from Hendersonville, Tenn., was selected by the Cleveland Indians with the 154th overall pick in the fifth round.
On Wednesday, University of Oklahoma pitcher and 2017 Pittsfield Sun Cade Cavalli became the highest draft pick in league history and just the second-ever selection in the first round as he was chosen 22nd overall by the Washington Nationals.
The No. 161 prospect on Baseball America’s pre-Draft rankings, Hickman earned Collegiate Baseball Second Team All-America honors after going 2-0 with a 0.48 ERA in three starts for the Commodores this spring. He struck out 26, including a career-high 12 in a Feb. 21 win over Illinois-Chicago, and allowed just one earned run over 18.2 innings.
Last season, Hickman ranked fourth in the Southeastern Conference with a 2.05 ERA and 13th nationally with 129 strikeouts in 96.2 innings. He concluded a 9-0 sophomore year by earning the victory in Vandy’s College World Series championship-clinching game against Michigan.
Hickman made four starts for Martha’s Vineyard in 2017 before returning to his home state to pitch for head coach Tim Corbin’s Commodores.
Hickman would join 2014 Worcester Bravehearts and former Northeastern pitcher Aaron Civale in Cleveland’s organization. Civale became just the third Futures League alum to make his Major League Baseball debut on June 22, 2019 and made 10 starts for the Indians last season.
Stay Connected