The years of hitting and fielding practice that Chris Kilen gave his son, Gavin, in their backyard practice facility paid off late Sunday afternoon.
The San Francisco Giants and first-year general manager of baseball operations Buster Posey selected the 21-year-old Kilen with the 13th overall pick of the 2025 Major League Baseball draft.
Father and son, along with Gavins mother, Kristina, celebrated the historic occasion at their Milton residence along with family and friends.
No other player in the immediate Janesville area has ever been selected in the first round of the MLB draft. Kilen led Milton High School to the WIAA Division 1 state title his senior year in 2022 and then had two productive seasons playing shortstop at the University of Louisville.
Kilen transferred last summer to the University of Tennessee where he switched to second base. Kilen recorded a .963 fielding percentage, recording 52 putouts, 78 assists and five errors.
The Giants selected him as a shortstop. Nine of the top 14 first-round picks were shortstops. The other five were pitchers.
He can play anywhere
Tony Vitello, Kilen’s coach for the one season at Tennessee, served as a draft analyst for coverage of the draft. He said although Kilen primarily played second base this past season, he was used at shortstop at the end of the year.
He can play anywhere, Vitello said. We played him at second, short and third. Really, he might have been our best guy at each of those three spots.
The Milwaukee Brewers later selected Kilens Volunteer teammate, third baseman Andrew Fischer, with the 20th pick in the first round.
In his only season in Knoxville, Kilen hit .357 with 15 home runs and 48 RBI despite missing 12 games with a hamstring injury midway through the season.
Kilen slashed .357/.441/.671 with a 1.112 OPS, earning first-team All-American honors from Perfect Game and Baseball America.
Vitello said indoor baseball facilities have helped players growing up in colder climates improve to a point where they can be high MLB draft choices.
Then Vitello credited Chris Kilen with getting Gavin to where he was selected. Chris was a standout at Janesville Parker High School and played at the University of Louisiana-Monroe and was drafted as a pitcher by the Twins in 1993.
Gavins coach was his father, who knows a ton about hitting, Vitello said. A ton more than I ever thought about.
They learn at a young age and compete against other great players, Vitello said.
Compared to Gavin Lux
Vitello and Harold Reynolds, another analyst, both said they would compare Kilen to Gavin Lux.
Lux, a left-handed hitter like Kilen, played at Indian Trails High School in Kenosha and was the 20th pick in the first round of the 2016 MLB draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 27-year-old Lux has played second, shortstop and left field in 5翻 seasons in the majors with the Dodgers.
He wanted to be the next Gavin Lux out of Wisconsin, Vitello said of Kilen. As of today, to me, he is.
I see a lot of Gavin Lux with him, Reynolds said.
Vitello said Kilen benefited from transferring from Louisville to Tennessee. He said it was one positive of the portal.
Louisville is a better fit for some kids than we are, the Tennessee coach said. Gavin came into a new set of circumstances, and it truly was a great fit for him.
Hes an aggressive hitter that needs to be aggressive, Vitello said of the 5-foot-11, 187-pound Kilen. But at the same time, he was overly aggressive. He controlled the zone better this year and swung at pitches he could hit. And it translated into power.
Hes a kid that has a loud bat for not being an imposing figure, said Vitello, who watched his top pitcher, Liam Doyle, selected fifth overall Sunday by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Vitello was asked about Kilens leadership ability.
A silent assassin
He was a silent assassin, Vitello said, adding that Kilen reminded him of Ian Kinsler, who played 14 seasons in the majors with five teams. He doesnt wear it on his sleeve like Liam (Doyle) would, but he wants to make sure everyone is out for the kill. Hes a tremendous competitor.
Kilen originally was drafted after his senior season at Milton High by the Boston Red Sox in the 13th round. Kilen, who is represented by the Boras Corporation that is headed by Scott Boras, decided to play in college to begin his post-high school career.
Kilen said last week that he made the decision three years ago to gamble on himself. On Sunday, he cashed in his chips. The 13th overall pick has a pre-draft slotted value of $5,524,300.
