Five Louisville Players Selected On Day Two Of The 2021 MLB Draft

Louisville had five more of its players drafted on day two of the 2021 MLB Draft.

Infielder Alex Binelas was taken by the hometown Milwaukee Brewers with the 86th overall pick, while second baseman Cooper Bowman was drafted by the New York Yankees with the 122nd overall pick. Pitcher Michael Kirian was taken by the Washington Nationals with the 173rd overall pick.

Lucas Dunn and Luke Brown were taken in the later rounds of the draft, being selected by the San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates, respectively.

In addition, Louisville commit Daylen Lile was taken early, as the Nationals also drafted him with their 47th overall pick.

Alex Binelas has been one of the top power hitters in the ACC from the moment he arrived in 2019. As a true freshman, Binelas had 14 doubles and home runs apiece (leading the team in home runs that season), to go with 59 RBIs, .291 batting and .612 slugging. His efforts that season earned him Freshman All-American honors from multiple publications, as well as an All-ACC Second Team honor.

After playing in only two games in 2020 due to a hamate injury suffered in the series opener, Binelas rebounded with a solid 2021 season. The Oak Creek, Wis. native led Louisville in home runs (19) and RBIs (63) and averaged .256 at the plate with .621 slugging. Binelas earned his second All-ACC honors in his Louisville career, being selected as a Third Team player.

Cooper Bowman cemented himself as the starting second baseman for Louisville early on and was consistent throughout the season. The Rapid City, S.D. native averaged .293 batting with seven doubles, eight home runs, 22 RBIs, and was second on the team with 20 stolen bases. Bowman was a Second Team All-ACC selection at his position.

Primarily a reliever throughout his first two seasons at Louisville, Kirian became a starter for most of the 2021 season. Kirian finished with a 5-3 record, 4.80 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and allowed .257 batting. As a reliever, he finished with 12 career saves, including tallying a save in all six appearances he made in 2020. Kirian also held a 1.69 ERA in 2019, and led the team in appearances (26) with 42 strikeouts.

Lucas Dunn averaged over .300 batting in the 2018 and 2019 seasons, and averaged .266 in 2021 with 30 RBIs and six home runs. He was also among the team leaders in stolen bases during 2019 and 2021, tallying 15 and 12, respectively. In both 2019 and 2021, he also tallied 10 doubles for each season.

Luke Brown averaged over .320 in both 2020 and 2021 seasons, and also has 28 stolen bases in his Louisville career (including 17 in 2021). Last season, Brown averaged .320 with 13 doubles, four triples, and 20 RBIs.

Labeled as one of the best pure hitters in the 2021 high school class, Daylen Lile was the key piece to bring Trinity’s first baseball championship in school history. Lile earned Mr. Baseball honors in the state of Kentucky with a gaudy .550 batting average and an OPS over 2.000. He was also chosen as the National Player of the Year by Perfect Game, and was named Gatorade’s Player of the Year for Kentucky.

Below, you can listen to what UofL Baseball Coach Dan McDonnell had to say about the MLB Draft and UofL players and signees that were chosen: