With the 79th pick in the 2025 Major League Baseball draft, the Los Angeles Angels selected left-handed pitcher Johnny Slawinski from Johnson City on July 13.
Slawinski attracted the attention of Major League clubs from across the country during his senior year, thanks in part to his fastball consistently clocked at 90 mph or faster and his well-rounded arsenal of breaking pitches. He was the third pitcher selected by the Angels in the 2025 draft, and should he sign, he would be the first professional baseball player produced by Johnson City.
Slawinski is the first Blanco County product selected by a MLB team since Blanco High School graduate Tyler LaRue was chosen by the Washington Nationals in the 38th round of the 2019 draft. He did not sign professionally, but opted to play college baseball. Blanco’s Kyle Gray was picked by the New York Yankees in the 14th round of the 2018 draft. He played collegiately for West Virginia University. Willie Upshaw, a Blanco native and BHS graduate, was drafted by the Yankees in the fifth round of the 1975 MLB draft and spent a decade in the big leagues with the Blue Jays and Indians.
