DeJesus is taken by Royals in baseball draft

Manalapan’s David DeJesus, Rutgers University’s All-Big East outfielder, was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the fourth round (104th pick overall) of the major league baseball draft on June 5.

DeJesus is the highest pick at Rutgers under Coach Fred Hill and the first Scarlet Knight player chosen in the first 10 rounds since Bill Malloy was taken in the eighth round by the San Francisco Giants. The junior outfielder from Manalapan High School improved on his 1997 draft status when he was a senior at Manalapan High School and was chosen in the 43rd round.

DeJesus batted lead-off for the Scarlet Knights, hitting .368 and leading the team in runs scored with 66. He was selected to the First Team All-Big East.

During his three years at Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights made the NCAA tournament. This year, the Knights won the Big East regular season and were tournament champions as they set a single-season record for wins (40-18). The Knights were the No. 1 seed in the region which was hosted by Rutgers at Yogi Berra Stadium at Montclair State University. The team was ranked as high as 14th in the country by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball.

DeJesus is a Manalapan High School grad who garnered All-Shore and All-State honors while playing for the Braves. Last summer, DeJesus played in the Cape Cod League for the Chatham A’s.

The Cape Cod League is considered the best college wood bat summer league in the country. DeJesus made the All-Star Team and batted .300.