The Milwaukee Brewers selected Tennessee first baseman Blake Burke with the No. 34 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft on Sunday night.
Burke was a three-year contributor at Tennessee, splitting playing time as the designated hitter in his freshman season before starting at first base in both his sophomore and junior seasons. The left-handed slugger finished his career with 50 home runs, second to only Christian Moore for the most in the history of the Vols’ program.
While Burke hit 14-plus home runs in all three seasons at Tennessee, he took major steps forward at the plate in his junior season in Knoxville. Burke led the Vols with a .379 batting average tied the single-season program record with 30 doubles to go along with 20 home runs in 61 RBIs hitting in the two-hole. Burke’s incredible .379/.449/.702 slash line showed what a high level and balanced hitter he became.
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Defense was viewed as a major weakness for Burke entering his junior season but he kept on improving and took major strides defensively in his junior season and ended up landing on the SEC All-Defensive Team.
The junior third baseman is the second Tennessee baseball player off the board in the 2024 MLB Draft joining second baseman Christian Moore who landed with the Los Angeles Angels. It’s just the second time in the Vitello era that two Tennessee players have gone in the first round of the draft.
Burke becomes the sixth first round pick of the Vitello era in Knoxville joining Garrett Crochet, Drew Gilbert, Jordan Beck, Chase Dollander and Moore.
Stay tuned to RockyTopInsider.com over the next three days for complete coverage of the Vols’ in the 2024 MLB Draft.
