MLB Draft: Josh Graham Signs Contract With Atlanta, Leaves Oregon Ducks

The Oregon Ducks will lose a valuable arm on both sides of the ball. Josh Graham will leave Oregon and join the Atlanta Braves, the team that drafted him in the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft earlier this month.

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Graham is the first Oregon player to make the decision to leave the program to pursue a career as a pro. Five other recruits and current players still have to make the decision including Infielder Mitchell Tolman, Closer Garrett Cleavinger, and Starter Cole Irvin.

Graham was in nineteen games in 2014 for Oregon and ended the year with a 4-1 record and a 2.63 ERA. As a catcher he had fifty-nine at bats and hit .220 with thirteen hits, eight runs and twelve RBIs for the Ducks. The Oregonian released a ‘Draft Capsule’ on Graham and a scout they spoke with spoke very highly of the former Oregon Duck, “His stock is rising pretty quick. As teams line up their boards I’m sure they’re seeing that velocity, you know, stands out. He developed as a pitcher as the season progressed. We saw improvements in all of his secondary pitches and his feel for the strike zone.”

According to the Register Guard, the Braves will use Graham as a pitcher.