Auburn signee Tanner Burns named state's top baseball player by Gatorade

Decatur pitcher/short stop Tanner Burns is the 2017 Gatorade Alabama Baseball Player of the Year.

The Auburn signee went 10-1 with a 0.88 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 64 innings this past season. He hit .467 with 16 home runs and 46 RBI as the Red Raiders went 32-5 and advanced to the Class 6A quarterfinals. 

RELATED: Burns shrugged off draft hype to focus on playoffs

Burns is considered a top-50 prospect for the MLB Draft, which begins June 12.

He is the second Decatur player to receive the Gatorade award, joining 2001 winner Cole Barthel.

Burns has maintained a 3.27 GPA. He has volunteered on behalf of the Special Olympics and as a youth baseball coach, according to a Gatorade press release.

“Tanner Burns is an absolutely fierce competitor on the mound and at the plate," Austin coach Tyler Stephenson said in the release. "He has found so many ways to beat me and every other team I have watched him compete against. As a crosstown area rival, he is the kid we hate to see. But off the field I absolutely love the kid. Tanner Burns is an amazingly respectful and humble young man.”

Gatorade Alabama Baseball Player of the Year
2016: Brax Garrett, Florence
2015: Hunter Stovall, Pelham
2014: Cody Reed, Ardmore
2013: Keegan Thompson, Cullman
2012: Mikey White, Spain Park
2011: Keegan Thompson, Cullman
2010: Daryl Norris, Fairhope
2009: Luke Bole, Harstselle
2008: Tyler Stovall, Hokes Bluff
2007: Hunter Morris, Grissom
2006: Jake Smith, Hueytown
2005: Colby Rasmus, Russell County
2004: Josh Donaldson, Faith Academy
2003: Chris Vines, Pelham
2002: Thomas Baker, Holtville
2001: Cole Barthel, Decatur
2000: Brandon Mims, Prattville
1999: Jake Peavey, St. Paul's
1998: Damien Jones, Vigor
1997: B.J. Green, Gardendale
1996: Josh Hancock, Vestavia Hills
1995: Jason Gregory, UMS-Wright
1994: Brian Meadows, Charles Henderson
1993: Jay Chittam, Hartselle
1992: Ryan Halla, Vestavia Hills
1991: Terry Adams, Mary G. Montgomery
1990: Brandon Moore, Springville
1989: Lamar Foster, Bibb County
1988: Reid Cornelius, Thomasville
1987: William Loftin, Jacksonville
1986: Tommy Youngblood, Auburn

from Auburn Sports Impact http://bit.ly/2rAIjgJ
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