Austin Beck Selected No. 6 by Athletics in 2017 MLB Draft

The Oakland Athletics used the No. 6 overall selection in the 2017 MLB draft to pick high school outfielder Austin Beck on Monday.

The 18-year-old Beck attended North Davidson High School in Arcadia, North Carolina, and firmly established himself as one of the top available prospects during the 2017 season.

While Beck is committed to play college baseball for the North Carolina Tar Heels, his draft status suggests he is instead likely to sign a professional contract.

Here's what Twitter thought of the A's picking Beck:

Beck raised plenty of eyebrows this season, as he put up ridiculous numbers in just 110 plate appearances, according to Impact Baseball director of operations Trey Daly:

What made Beck's performance even more impressive was the fact he suffered a torn ACL and meniscus in his left knee last year.

Despite the severity of the injury, Beck said he gave no thought to sitting out his senior season at North Davidson, per Kegan Lowe of the Winston-Salem Journal: "I never wanted to sit out a year. That was never even really a thought for me. My only focus was getting back as quickly as I could and have a great senior season because I really wanted to help my team win another state championship. That was my biggest goal—to be a part of that."

Although North Davidson fell short of the state title, Beck saved perhaps the best performance of his high school career for last.

In a playoff loss, Beck cranked three home runs, including this moonshot captured by Will Bryant of the Daily Tar Heel:

According to PerfectGame.org, Beck is a 6'1", 190-pound righty who was part of the 2017 Rawlings-Perfect Game All-American First Team.

He is a do-everything player with power, speed and defensive ability, and he has even received comparisons to Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, per John Sickels of MinorLeagueBall.com.

The development curve from high school to become a player of Trout's caliber is steep, but Beck's raw talent is undeniable, and the A's couldn't pass it up.

Oakland's farm system is pitching-heavy at the top, though shortstop Franklin Barreto and third baseman Matt Chapman do give the franchise two potential cornerstone position players. 

Beck will slot in right alongside Barreto and Chapman, though he will need a lot of development time in the minors before he arrives in Oakland.