D-backs sign top draft pick Anfernee Grier

The Diamondbacks agreed to terms with their first draft pick, outfielder Anfernee Grier, the team announced Wednesday.

The 20-year-old was selected 39^th overall in the first Competitive Balance round of the draft. As a junior at Auburn, the outfielder hit .366 with 12 home runs and 41 RBI in 56 games. His runs (56) and total bases (137) totals both were tops in the SEC, and he was second in home runs and hits.

Grier was a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award – awarded to the nation’s top amateur baseball player – and was a Baseball America First Team All-American and Second Team All-SEC selection. As a high schooler, Perfect Game named him Alabama’s No. 1 player.

The D-backs have now inked deals with 24 of their 40 draft picks. Their highest unsigned picks include second-round catcher Andrew Yerzy from York Mills Collegiate Institute, and fifth-round infielder Joey Rose from Toms River High School in New Jersey.

The team forfeited its first-round pick by signing Zack Greinke, but received a lottery pick in the Competitive Balance round, which awards selections to small-market clubs.

Grier has been assigned to Arizona’s Class-A short season affiliate, the Hillsboro Hops.

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