Baltimore Orioles pick Southern Miss star Reed Trimble 65th overall in MLB Draft
Southern Miss freshman outfielder Reed Trimble was selected by Baltimore Orioles 65th overall in the MLB Draft on Monday, in the competitive balance round between Rounds 2 and 3.
The Orioles’ slot value for that selection is $1,003,300.
“I’m just overwhelmed with a lot emotions,” Trimble told the Sun Herald shortly after his selection. “I’m just so excited … what a blessing it is.”
It remains to be seen if Trimble will decide to leave USM early to join the Orioles’ organization, but the fact that he was off the board before the start of the third round increases the odds that he will decide to go pro with three years of eligibility remaining at USM.
Trimble is leaving his options open.
“We’ve got a lot of things to see,” he said. “We’ll just see how it all pans out.”
Even with the uncertainty, Trimble was thrilled to have his name called by the Orioles on Monday.
“I guess it’s just a feeling of relief,” he said. “There’s been a lot of talk about whether I’ll come back to school. I’ve still got to see a lot about other stuff and what goes into it, but it’s a big feeling of relief to see somebody want to invest in me. What a blessing.”
Trimble said that the Orioles weren’t among the teams that talked with him the most in the lead up to the draft.
“The main ones were the Tigers, the Royals and the Dodgers,” he said.
At 6-foot, 180 pounds, Trimble showed power to all fields during the 2021 season and he was a steady center fielder with plenty of range.
A late surge at the plate allowed Trimble to put together one of the better offensive seasons in recent history for Southern Miss.
The former Northwest Rankin High School standout hit .345 with 17 homers and 72 RBIs — which was good enough to tie for the national lead. Fourteen of those RBIs came in the NCAA regional at Oxford as he bolstered his chances of becoming a high draft pick.
For a Southern Miss baseball team that typically doesn’t attempt many stolen bases, he led the way with 12 in 14 tries.
His 2021 numbers were a significant jump over the abbreviated 2020 campaign when he hit .275 with a homer and 12 RBIs in 11 games.
Trimble is the third USM baseball player to have been selected prior to the third round in the last four years. Outfielder Matt Wallner was a first-round choice by the Twins in 2019 and the Indians picked right-handed reliever Nick Sandlin in the second round in 2018.
This story was originally published July 12, 2021 at 1:12 PM.
