Three Pitt Baseball Players Taken in 2019 MLB Draft

The MLB Draft was held this week and three Pitt baseball players were selected.

Pitcher Dan Hammer was taken in the 13th Round by the Baltimore Orioles. Fellow pitcher Derek West went in the 14th Round to the Houston Astros. Perry rounded out the selections as he went in the 28th Round to the Detroit Tigers.

Perry was a senior so he’s definitely gone. West was taken last year in the 28th Round but ultimately decided to return for his junior year. This time, however, he appears ready to jump to the Astros, per this tweet.

To date, I haven’t seen word that Hammer has signed with the Orioles yet. But these things often go under the radar so it’s possible he has. Nevertheless, his statement about ‘pursuing a lifelong dream’ makes it sound like he is leaning towards leaving, too.

There’s nothing that could be done about Perry but, in him, Pitt loses its top power threat as he slugged 15 home runs in 55 games. The team also loses what was arguably the best pitcher this year in West as he was 3-2 with a 3.82 ERA.

On the surface, the selection of Hammer that high might seem kind of risky. He was 3-8 this year with a 6.55 ERA — the worst among any of Pitt’s five guys that started at least nine games this year. But the Hammer pick is one based on potential and he’s clearly got that. He gave up a lot of runs and walks this year but also struck out 80 guys in only 66 innings. That kind of ratio will always get you noticed.

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