Washington Nationals draft Tyler Cropley in eighth round

Tyler Cropley is the second Hawkeye to go in the first 10 rounds of the 2018 MLB Draft.

Pete Ruden, [email protected]

June 5, 2018

Tyler Cropley scores a run during Iowa baseball vs. Northern Illinois at Banks Field on April 17, 2018. The Hawkeyes won the game 2-0. (Megan Nagorzanski/The Daily Iowan)

Tyler Cropley added his name to the list of Iowa players selected in
the MLB Draft, as the Washington Nationals scooped up the Hawkeye
catcher in the eighth round (No. 251), making him the 17th player
taken in the
draft under Iowa head coach Rick Heller.

Cropley, a transfer from Iowa Western, played a big role in Iowa’s
NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017 and brought that production into
the 2018 season.

The McCook Lake, South Dakota, native boasted a 2018 slash line of
.342/.449/.578, leading the team in all three categories and ranked
first on the team in RBIs (50), doubles (20), and hits (68). He also
tied for the team lead in runs scored (43) and finished second on
the squad with 9 home runs. His performance earned him second-team
All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball and a spot on the All-Big
Ten first team.

All of that success came after a 2017 in which he started slowly at
the plate but picked it up to land a second-team All-Big Ten honor and
crack the Big Ten’s All-Tournament team. He finished the season with a
.268 average, along with 9 home runs and 36 RBIs.

Cropley also stepped up in the clutch numerous times this season. He
proved his knack for coming through in crunch time by blasting two
walk-off home runs on the season, one a grand slam against Bradley and
a 2-run shot to beat No. 7 Michigan in the series’ final
game.