San Marcos, Texas – Four more Texas State baseball players were chosen on Wednesday in the third and final day of the MLB First-Year Player Draft. Louis Head, Colton Turner, Travis Ballew and Casey Kalenkosky were all drafted and will have the opportunity to play at the next level if they so choose.
With the four selections on Wednesday and Jeff McVaney being picked on Tuesday, Texas State had five players drafted for the second consecutive season. In total, the Bobcats have now had 45 players drafted all-time, including 30 since head coach Ty Harrington took over the baseball program in 2000.
“I think it shows the kind of athletes we have been able to recruit here,” Harrington said. “It shows the development that our guys go through at Texas State because none of them had been drafted before coming here. This has been part of all of their goals when they chose to come to Texas State, so we're proud of those guys.”
Head heard his name called as the first Bobcat chosen on Wednesday when the Cleveland Indians picked the right-handed pitcher in the 18th round as the 563rd overall selection. The junior finished 2012 season strong, pitching in pivotal situations down the stretch for the Bobcats. Head tallied a 2-2 record, 4.20 ERA and three saves primarily coming out of the bullpen. He also made two starts for Texas State and struck out 25 batters over 30 total innings on the mound.
Turner, an All-Southland Conference Second Team selection, was next off the board when the Toronto Blue Jays picked the left-handed pitcher in the 21st round and the 655th overall selection. Turner capped off his junior season with a 5-3 overall record and 2.46 ERA on the mound, the best ERA for qualified starts on the Texas State staff. He allowed just one home run the entire season and struck out 87 batters in 87 2/3 innings on the mound.
Ballew, the Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year and all-American selection, then went to the Houston Astros with the first pick of the 23rd round and 699th overall. The right hander finished his breakout 2012 campaign with an 11-4 overall record and 2.73 ERA. He struck out a team-high 119 batters in 102 1/3 innings, while holding opponents to just a .239 batting average collectively. Ballew also had four complete games, two of which were shutouts, during his third season with the Bobcats.
Kalenkosky, an All-Southland Conference Third Team selection, heard his named called for the second straight season in the draft. This time around, the Bobcat first baseman was picked in the 30th round (929th overall) by the Atlanta Braves – the same team that picked former Bobcat Kyle Kubitza in the third round a season ago. Kalenkosky capped off his second and final season this year with the Bobcats with a team-high 10 home runs to go along with a .266 batting average, 41 RBIs and 34 runs scored. The senior also led the team with four triples and 28 bases on balls.
The juniors selected in this year's draft will have the option of signing a professional contract with the team which drafted them or returning to school for their senior seasons.
