DaShawn Keirsey Jr. is bound for the Twin Cities.
On Tuesday, the Utah center fielder was selected with the 124th pick in the fourth round of the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft by the Minnesota Twins.
Keirsey, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound left-handed outfielder from San Diego, Calif., has been a standout for the Utes during his time in Salt Lake City. Keirsey is a three-time All-Pac-12 honoree.
He is the third-highest overall selection in the MLB Draft for the Utes behind only former first baseman C.J. Corn (2011), Stephen Fife (2008) and John Noriega (1966).
Keirsey was also a two-time all-Pac-12 defensive team selection, becoming Utah’s first choice to make the team since the Utes joined the league in 2016 where he doubled as a freshman All-American. At the plate, Keirsey hit .386, finished with 78 hits, 22 RBIs, four home runs and seven stolen bases. He led the Pac-12 and was 10th in the NCAA in doubles with 23. Keirsey also led the Utes with 47 runs scored.
Woah.@UtahBaseball's Dashawn Keirsey is 5️⃣-for-5️⃣ today 🙌 (he's hitting .397 👀)#IsThatGood? pic.twitter.com/yiHCvyiVY8
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) May 19, 2018
In 154 career games at Utah — 148 of which were starts — Keirsey’s career batting average was .334. The Utah outfielder was ranked as the No. 82 prospect in the 2018 MLB Draft by Baseball America. The pick value, according to analysis provided on MLB.com, sits around $442,600.
Keirsey suffered a serious injury in 2017 when he collided into the outfield wall at Smith’s Ballpark, resulting in a dislocated and fractured left hip. The injury kept him from running for nearly fourth months after the surgery. During his rehab back home in San Diego, several of Keirsey’s physical therapy and rehab sessions were with the San Diego Padres training staff.
“Keirsey has excellent bat to ball skills and makes consistent hard contact,” according to an online scouting report on MLB.com. “It’s more of a line drive approach at present, though the left-handed hitter has some extra-base thump.
“The more Keirsey looks like his pre-injury self,” the report continued, “the more his name was moving up boards, with some buzz as early as the third round. Teams thinking of taking him will have to put aside any worries about long-range questions about his health.”
