NEW YORK -- The MLB Draft League announced that the Milwaukee Brewers have purchased the contract of RHP Tanner Gillis from the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. He is the first Draft League professional player to have his contract purchased by a Major League club this season and the 12th overall since the Draft League implemented a professional, second-half format in 2022.
The MLB Draft League had a record-setting 52 players selected in the 2024 MLB Draft, surpassing the Draft League’s previous highest total of 47 picks in '21 and ‘23 Drafts. Additionally, the Draft League established another new record by having 36 players who participated in the first half of the 2024 Draft League season selected during the three-day event. Overall, the Draft League has produced 185 MLB Draft picks and more than 110 undrafted free-agent signings since the league’s inception in 2021.
Gillis, 24, was 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in five games (four starts) for Mahoning Valley this season. In 25 innings, the right-hander recorded 24 strikeouts against seven walks while limiting opposing hitters to a .200 average (18-for-90).
Gillis pitched six scoreless innings, scattering three hits and striking out five, at Frederick on Aug. 10 to record his first professional win. He had a season-high nine strikeouts against Williamsport on Aug. 15, earning the win after he allowed one earned run on six hits and two walks. In his final turn for the Scrappers, Gillis completed a season-best seven innings on 85 pitches (56 strikes) on Aug. 22 at West Virginia. He yielded two earned runs on three hits and three hits while striking out five batters.
A Buffalo, N.Y., native, Gillis was a First Team All-Horizon League and two-time Horizon League Pitcher of the Week selection this year as a Northern Kentucky graduate student, going 8-3 with a 5.00 ERA in 14 starts. He compiled a team-best 81 strikeouts against 28 walks in 75 2/3 innings, during which he held the opposition to a .233 average.
Gillis won five straight starts for the Norse from March 1-28, concluding with a 10-strikeout performance over eight innings against Youngstown State. He tossed a seven-inning, complete-game shutout, allowing one hit with nine strikeouts, against Purdue Fort Wayne on May 11 and racked up 11 strikeouts over 8 2/3 innings, both season-high marks, against Wright State on May 24 in the Horizon League Tournament.
Gillis pitched four seasons at Cedarville University (Ohio) prior to joining Northern Kentucky for the 2024 season. Making 36 appearances, including 25 starts, Gillis was 6-7 with a 6.01 ERA. He had 144 strikeouts and issued 51 walks in 136 1/3 career innings. Gillis also was a two-time G-MAC Academic Team selection (2021-22) for the Yellow Jackets.
The Draft League plays an amateur/professional hybrid-format season. After featuring exclusively Draft-eligible players during a 35-game first half of the season (June 4 to July 13), the Draft League transitioned to a professional league in the second half (July 18 to Sept. 5), with undrafted, out-of-eligibility players signed to professional contracts comprising the six founding Draft League teams’ rosters while playing a 45-game schedule.
For more information about the MLB Draft League, visit mlbdraftleague.com or follow @mlbdraftleague and @draftleaguedata on Twitter, and @mlbdraftleague on Instagram.
