Seven More Tech Baseball Players Drafted on Day 3

Texas Tech baseball completed the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft with 11 student-athletes selected by various professional clubs, including seven on Wednesday in the final rounds.

It was the most players Tech has ever had drafted in a single season, sliding past the previous-high of 10 in 2016. The 11 selected also made up the most of any collegiate program through the first 30 rounds of this year’s selection process.

The day started with three more pitchers getting taken in Davis Martin (408^th overall – Round 14) by the Chicago White Sox, Ty Harpenau (472^nd overall – Round 16) by the Atlanta Braves and Caleb Kilian (595^th overall – Round 20) by the Baltimore Orioles. Outfielder Cody Farhat was selected next in the 23^rdround with the 703^rd overall pick by the Cleveland Indians.

Then, a trio of seniors were drafted, as infielder Michael Davis (724^th overall – Round 24) was taken by the Minnesota Twins, LHP Dylan Dusek (796^th overall – Round 27) was selected by the San Francisco Giants and outfielder Zach Rheams (800^th overall – Round 27) followed four picks later by the New York Mets.

Four of Tech’s five members of its 2018 senior class were drafted, as RHP Jose Quezada was taken on Tuesday night by the San Diego Padres in the 10^th round. Six pitchers were selected overall, which was also the most since the 2016 group.

Martin, the San Angelo native, has started 15 games this season for the Red Raiders, posting a 7-5 mark, with his most-recent victory in the Lubbock Regional-clinching win over Louisville on June 3. He has 21 victories over his three-year Red Raider career, posting 10 as a freshman in 2016 en route to four freshman All-America accolades. Martin has a career 3.35 ERA, putting together a 2.52 mark in his first season in the scarlet & black. His 71 strikeouts in 2018 is a career-best for a single-season, using 71.0 innings to reach the mark. He heads into the weekend with 169 total strikeouts for his career and an opponent batting average of .247.

Harpenau, from Fort Smith, Arkansas, has a 6-2 record with three saves over 23 appearances out of the bullpen this year. He’s lowered his ERA all three years of collegiate career, sending in a 3.47 mark this year over a career-high 49.1 innings worked. Overall, he’s won seven games and tallied four saves, with his first win coming in 2016 and his first save last year. Harpenau has 105 strikeouts over three years, punching out a career-high 48 in 2018.

Kilian, a sophomore from Flower Mound, won six games as a freshman out of the bullpen and nine this year, transitioning into a starting role after the start of the 2018 campaign. He is 9-1 this year with a 2.39 ERA over 64.0 innings pitched, racking up 57 strikeouts, allowing just 17 earned runs. Opponents have hit just .203 off Kilian over his two years, as he’s rung up 92 batters in 37 career appearances. This May, he was named an All-Big 12 First Team member by the league’s head coaches.

Farhat, a native of Plano, took over the starting center fielder role in 2017, resulting in 36 starts and 54 games played as a sophomore, hitting for a .343 clip. He had 47 hits, 19 for extra bases, to go with 22 RBI and 32 runs scored. This season, he’s racked up 56 knocks, 17 for extra bases, including five homers, while producing other career-highs in RBI and runs with 36 and 47, respectively. In 2017, the conference coaches elected him as a First Team member to the All-Big 12 squad.

Davis, a hometown senior from Lubbock, has been with the Red Raiders for all four years of his collegiate career. He’s raised his batting average every season and sits seven hits shy of a career-best of 67 set in 2016. That year, he had 23 extra bases, including 20 doubles, but Davis has 28 extra-base hits in 2018, throwing down 17 doubles and 11 homers. He also has 60 RBI and 47 runs this year, totaling 126 RBI and 150 runs scored to go with 201 hits over his time at Tech. Davis also earned Honorable Mention All-Big 12 & academic All-Big 12 honors in 2016.

Dusek, from Sugar Land, has the longest tenure of any Red Raider on the current roster, helping Tech to its first trip to the College World Series in 2014. Dusek earned Freshman All-America honors after posting an 8-0 record with a 1.94 ERA in 14 games in 2014. He had a career-best 38 strikeouts that year while pitching in four shutouts. After going 2-2 in 2015, Dusek made his return to the mound in 2017, coming out of the bullpen 11 times for 15.2 innings of work. This year, he has a 2.22 ERA in 17 appearances, including three starts, for a 3-0 record. He’s punched out 30 batters in 28.1 innings and allowed just seven earned runs.

Rheams, a native of Angleton, joined the Red Raiders in 2017 and claimed the starting designated hitter spot as his own this year. Rheams leads the squad in homers with 16, giving him the most in a single season by a Red Raider since Roger Kieschnick in 2008. His three dingers during the NCAA Lubbock Regional earned him Regional MVP and All-Tournament honors, while being placed on the All-Big 12 First Team at the end of the regular season. Rheams heads into the weekend with 50 hits, 53 RBI and 37 runs scored in 45 games played and 37 starts in 2018.

The Red Raiders continue their season this weekend against Duke on June 9-11 in NCAA Super Regional action at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.

2018 MLB DRAFT

Grant Little – Competitive Balance Round B – 74^th overall – San Diego Padres

Steven Gingery – Round 4 – 123^rd overall – St. Louis Cardinals

Ryan Shetter – Round 9 – 262^nd overall – Atlanta Braves

Jose Quezada – Round 10 – 291^st overall – San Diego Padres

Davis Martin – Round 14 – 408^th overall – Chicago White Sox

Ty Harpenau – Round 16 – 472^nd overall – Atlanta Braves

Caleb Kilian – Round 20 – 595^th overall – Baltimore Orioles

Cody Farhat – Round 23 – 703^rd overall – Cleveland Indians

Michael Davis – Round 24 – 724^th overall – Minnesota Twins

Dylan Dusek – Round 27 – 796^th overall – San Francisco Giants