NAIA West Grouping Players Picked in MLB Draft
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Twenty-six NAIA baseball programs had student-athletes selected in the 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft, which wrapped up Wednesday evening. In total, 40 NAIA baseball players were picked by 27 different clubs during the three-day, 40-round event.
For the second year in a row, Oklahoma Baptist had the first NAIA player taken off the board by a MLB club, as junior left-hander Taylor Hearn was selected by the Washington Nationals in the fifth round (164th overall). Hearn ended 2015 with a 9-0 record and 3.50 earned run average in 15 appearances. He was second on the club with 71 strikeouts and a .191 opponent batting average.
Jerry Downs of St. Thomas (Fla.) was the first position player drafted. The Miami, Fla., native was taken in the 15th round (441st overall) by the Boston Red Sox. Downs, who played a key role in the Bobcats run to the championship game of the 2015 Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series, ranked sixth in the NAIA in runs score (72) and 13th in at-bats (232). A multi-tooled player, Downs ended the season with a .349 batting average, including 56 RBI, 17 doubles and nine home runs. He also stole a team-best 12 bases and had five outfield assists.
World Series champion Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), Missouri Baptist, Oklahoma Baptist and Westmont (Calif.) lead all NAIA institutions with three individuals selected each.
The Arizona Diamondbacks has the most NAIA selections with four – Tyler Mark of Concordia (Calif.) (6th round; 166th overall), Daniel Comstock of Menlo (Calif.) (18th round; 526th overall), Jeff Smith of Missouri Baptist (30th round; 886th overall) and Tucker Ward of Mobile (Ala.) (40th round; 1,186th overall).
For the complete breakdown from MLB.com, click here.
For more information on NAIA baseball, click here.
2015 MLB Draft – NAIA Players Selected- NAIA West Grouping Players in Bold
|
Pick |
Round |
Team |
Player |
School |
Pos. |
|
164 |
5 |
Washington Nationals |
Taylor Hearn |
Oklahoma Baptist |
LHP |
|
166 |
6 |
Arizona Diamondbacks |
Tyler Mark |
Concordia (Calif.) |
RHP |
|
296 |
10 |
Miami Marlins |
Kelvin Rivas |
Oklahoma Baptist |
RHP |
|
306 |
10 |
San Francisco Giants |
Tyler Cyr |
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) |
RHP |
|
364 |
12 |
Cleveland Indians |
Ryan Perez |
Judson (Ill.) |
LHP |
|
441 |
15 |
Boston Red Sox |
Jerry Downs |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
OF |
|
488 |
16 |
Oakland Athletics |
Dustin Hurlbutt |
Tabor (Kan.) |
RHP |
|
506 |
17 |
Miami Marlins |
Max Whitt |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
SS |
|
526 |
18 |
Arizona Diamondbacks |
Daniel Comstock |
Menlo (Calif.) |
C |
|
547 |
18 |
Pittsburgh Pirates |
Stephan Meyer |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
RHP |
|
571 |
19 |
Milwaukee Brewers |
Steven Karkenny |
The Master's (Calif.) |
1B |
|
578 |
19 |
Oakland Athletics |
Seth Brown |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
1B |
|
584 |
19 |
Washington Nationals |
Clayton Brandt |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
SS |
|
595 |
20 |
Cincinnati Reds |
Rock Rucker |
Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) |
LHP |
|
610 |
20 |
Detroit Tigers |
Logan Longwith |
Tennessee Wesleyan |
RHP |
|
632 |
21 |
Toronto Blue Jays |
Tayler Saucedo |
Tennessee Wesleyan |
LHP |
|
648 |
22 |
Texas Rangers |
Josh Altmann |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
SS |
|
653 |
22 |
Chicago Cubs |
Alex Bautista |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
OF |
|
720 |
24 |
Atlanta Braves |
Jacob Lanning |
Holy Cross (Ind.) |
3B |
|
735 |
24 |
Los Angeles Angels |
Mitch Esser |
Concordia (Calif.) |
CF |
|
792 |
26 |
Los Angeles Dodgers |
Marcus Crescentini |
Missouri Baptist |
RHP |
|
794 |
26 |
Washington Nationals |
Russell Harmening |
Westmont (Calif.) |
RHP |
|
829 |
28 |
Houston Astros |
Zac Grotz |
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) |
RHP |
|
837 |
28 |
San Diego Padres |
Corey Hale |
Mobile (Ala.) |
LHP |
|
853 |
28 |
Baltimore Orioles |
Christian Turnipseed |
Georgia Gwinnett |
RHP |
|
886 |
30 |
Arizona Diamondbacks |
Jeff Smith |
Missouri Baptist |
IF |
|
892 |
30 |
Chicago White Sox |
Jack Charleston |
Faulkner (Ala.) |
RHP |
|
919 |
31 |
Houston Astros |
Keach Ballard |
Oklahoma Baptist |
SS |
|
932 |
31 |
Toronto Blue Jays |
Josh Degraaf |
Taylor (Ind.) |
RHP |
|
948 |
32 |
Texas Rangers |
John Werner |
St. Catharine (Ky.) |
RHP |
|
950 |
32 |
Minnesota Twins |
Andrew Vasquez |
Westmont (Calif.) |
LHP |
|
954 |
32 |
Philadelphia Phillies |
Reggie Wilson |
Oklahoma City |
CF |
|
958 |
32 |
Tampa Bay Rays |
Ty Jackson |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
RHP |
|
975 |
32 |
Los Angeles Angels |
Conor Lillis-White |
British Columbia |
LHP |
|
999 |
33 |
Kansas City Royals |
Nathan Esposito |
Concordia (Ore.) |
C |
|
1040 |
35 |
Minnesota Twins |
Hector Lujan |
Westmont (Calif.) |
RHP |
|
1077 |
36 |
San Diego Padres |
Alex Webb |
British Columbia |
RHP |
|
1083 |
36 |
New York Yankees |
Dustin Cook |
Oklahoma City |
RHP |
|
1151 |
38 |
St. Louis Cardinals |
Orlando Olivera |
Missouri Baptist |
OF |
|
1186 |
40 |
Arizona Diamondbacks |
Tucker Ward |
Mobile (Ala.) |
RHP
|