Texas Tech’s Tanner Gardner was selected by the Texas Tech Ranger in the ninth round with the 284th pick of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday.
Gardner, a left-handed batter who was nagged by two different ankle sprains throughout his junior season, is the 11th Red Raider to be selected in the top 10 rounds of the MLB draft.
Despite the injuries, Gardner finished the season with a .305 batting average and hit 17 doubles, two triple and five home runs for the Red Raiders. He appeared in and started in 54 games, while hitting three of his home runs in the NCAA Lubbock Regional against Sam Houston State.