Ohio State Baseball: Ohio State’s Dillon Dingler selected top of the second round

While Ohio State is known as a football school first and basketball school second, the Buckeyes made a splash Wednesday in the Major League Baseball Draft with Dillon Dingler being selected in the second round.

Dillon Dingler, a catcher for Ohio State, made a little bit of Buckeye history on Wednesday night by being the highest drafted player from Ohio State since Alex Wimmers when he went number 21 in 2010.

Dingler had a shot to go in the first round, but ended up falling to the 38th pick and was the first pick in the 2nd round by the Detroit Tigers.

Dingler came into his own during his 2.5 season at Ohio State, seeing his batting average rise from .244 from his freshman campaign to .340 as a junior until his season was cut short due to the coronavirus.

As his offensive skills started to rise, it was always his defensive abilities that had teams at the professional level willing and eager to take a chance on him. MLB.com uses scouting grades to identify talent of upcoming prospects on a scale of 20-80.

Dingler had an impressive 55 rating on his fielding, and a well above average 65 arm strength.

On a Buckeye team that was struggling to start the 2020 season, Dingler was a consistent bright spot both statistically and as a leader. He was named a captain for both the 2019 and 2020 season for Ohio State.

As well as being loved by his teammates and coaches, he was recognized outside the clubhouse as well earning Second Team All-Big Ten honors in 2019.

The Tigers took Dingler hoping that he can continue developing as a hitter, but keeping the same defensive prowess that made him a consideration late in the first round.

Dingler has a chance now to represent the Buckeyes and hopefully make it onto an MLB roster in the coming years as he continues to develop into a feared defensive catcher.