HOME OF THE BRAVE: Scarlets' Justin Black picked in 4th round by Atlanta - Billings Gazette
“I’m still in shock … I still have tears in my eyes,” said Black, about 30 minutes after being selected by the Atlanta Braves in the fourth round of the Major League Baseball draft. “The Braves and the Rays both called and said they were going to take me in the fourth round, so we were just sitting here hoping that would happen. “Then the Braves called when it was their turn and said it was a done deal … first my mom started crying and then I started. The 19-year-old Black, the center fielder for the Billings Scarlets and a recent Billings West grad, was the 149th overall pick in the draft and the 21st pick of the fourth round. Black, a three-year starter for the Scarlets, has impressed scouts with his combination of speed, power and defensive ability. 461 last season with six home runs, 27 doubles, 86 RBIs, 72 runs scored and 27 stolen bases for the Scarlets last summer, and was in Arizona for a month this spring playing with the Langley Blaze, a Canadian-based select team. Black was in Atlanta two weeks ago to work out for Braves’ scouts. “That workout was huge for me … I killed it there,” said Black, who also did private workouts for the St. Louis Cardinals and Seattle Mariners. Also in Atlanta, Black also struck up a friendship with catcher Bryan De La Rosa, a native of Puerto Rico who plays high school baseball in Boca Raton, Fla. Source: billingsgazette.com
