Émilien Pitre was selected with the No. 58 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays late Sunday night.
Pitre became the second Wildcat to be selected as Ryan Waldschmidt was taken No. 31 overall. He played three seasons of college baseball, all of which were in the blue and white.
When Pitre arrived in Lexington from his hometown of Repentigny, Quebec, Canada, in 2022 as a freshman, he only saw action in 11 games.
Despite the slow start, after being beat out in a competitive shortstop race by Grant Smith going into the 2023 season, Pitre slid over to second and quickly allowed Kentucky to have one of the best middle infields in the country.
The two gelled together so well up the middle and spoiled Big Blue Nation with viral clip after viral clip from spectacular double play turns to leaping catches; Pitre could do it all with the glove.
In his three seasons at UK, Pitre finished with a .985 fielding percentage as he only made eight errors in 317 attempts.
Another part of his game that will be remembered was his aggressive nature on the bases as he constantly put pressure on opposing defenses. In 2023, Pitre stole 20 bases before upping that in 2024 by stealing a team-leading 26 bases.
While he was special with the glove and could steal bags, the Canadian also showed off that he could hit it as well as, in 2023, he hit for a .318 batting average, .440 on-base percentage and a .413 slugging percentage.
Perhaps the only downside to Pitre’s game coming into the 2024 season was the low home run total as he only had one “Big Blue Bomb” in 2023.
This changed dramatically, however, in 2024 he maintained his high batting average and on-base percentage at .301 and .420 respectively, but he increased his slugging percentage to .519 with 10 home runs. The power surge made him a very complete overall player, which raised his draft stock significantly.
One of the biggest swings Pitre had during his Wildcat tenure was a two-run home run late in the game against Indiana State in the 2024 Lexington Regional, which sealed the game and sweep for Kentucky.
During his college career, he finished with a .307 batting average, .429 on-base percentage and a .464 slugging percentage.
After growing up in front of the eyes of Big Blue Nation, the lefty will now begin his journey through the Rays’ system, joining the likes of either Triple-A affiliate Durham Bulls or Double-A affiliate Montgomery Biscuits.
