Three Texas Tech Pitchers Drafted by MLB
After having three signees drafted on day one of the 2015 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, the Texas Tech baseball team saw three current Red Raider pitchers selected in day two of the draft.
Senior right-handers Corey Taylor and Dominic Moreno and junior right-hander Matt Withrow all received a phone call from major league clubs Tuesday, opening the door for their dreams of being big leaguers to be fulfilled.
Tuesday marked the first time in program history when three Red Raider hurlers were all selected in the first 10 rounds of the draft. In 2008, Roger Kieschnick, Zach Stewart and James Leverton were all selected in the top 10 rounds.
Withrow, an Odessa native, was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the sixth round of the draft with the 180th overall pick. Withrow became the fifth Red Raider to be drafted by the Braves and the first since 2001 when they selected Nick Popescu in the 33rd round.
Withrow’s selection marks the third season in a row where a Red Raider pitcher was drafted in the sixth round or earlier joining Trey Masek, fifth round, in 2013, and Chris Sadberry, sixth round, in 2014.
Withrow, who was previously selected in the 37th round by the Texas Rangers out of high school, went 1-1 with a career-low 3.63 ERA in 22.1 innings for Tech in 2015. In his three years with the Red Raiders his overall record is 9-7 with a 5.38 ERA with 119 strikeouts in 117 innings of work.
Not long after Withrow was drafted by the Braves, Taylor was taken with the 209th pick by the New York Mets.
Taylor is the fifth Red Raider to be chosen by the Mets organization and the first since 2002.
Taylor, who had not been previously drafted, had an outstanding year on the hill for the Red Raiders, earning First-Team All-Big 12 honors. He led the NCAA with a school-record and Conference-record 0.31 ERA while compiling a 4-0 record with two saves in 57.1 innings.
For his career, Taylor finished with an 11-8 overall record with a 3.30 ERA in 158.1 innings.
Moreno was the third Tech pitcher drafted on the day going (250th overall) in the eighth round by the Detroit Tigers.
Moreno’s selection is the fifth time the Tigers have drafted a Red Raider and the first time since 2000.
After being chosen in the 33rd round by the St.Louis Cardinals in the 2014 draft, the Farmington, New Mexico native chose to return to Tech and greatly improved his draft stock. Moreno finished 2015 with a 3-3 record with a 1.85 ERA while picking up a team-high seven saves out of the bullpen for Tim Tadlock.
Moreno was named to the second team All-Big 12 Conference squad after allowing just 12 earned runs in 58.1 innings and 24 appearances, including two starts.
For his career, Moreno finished with a 10-12 overall record and a 2.97 ERA and a very good strikeout-to-walk ration recording 183 K’s and walking 66.
Tech had another signee from its 2015 signing class drafted earlier in the day as Justin Maese (El Paso, Texas/Ysleta H.S.) was selected with the 91st overall pick (third round) by the Toronto Blue Jays.
2015 marks the 28th consecutive year at least one Red Raider has been drafted by the Major Leagues. Counting this year’s draftees, 38 Tech players have been chosen in the top 10 rounds of the annual MLB draft.
The MLB Draft wraps up with the final 30 rounds Wednesday afternoon. Selections will resume at 11 p.m. CT with coverage provided once again on MLB.com.