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Thursday, June 15, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS

Michigan well-represented in draft

The Michigan baseball team 

had 11 players selected in the 2017 
MLB Draft, which ran this week 
from Monday to Wednesday.

The 11 selections mark the 

highest the Wolverines have 
seen in program history. The 
selections also bring the total 
number of Michigan draftees up 
to 23 during Erik Bakich’s five-
year tenure as head coach.

Junior 
left-hander 
Oliver 

Jaskie was the first Wolverine off 
the board, as the Seattle Mariners 
took him in the sixth round 
with the 183rd overall pick. The 
unquestioned ace of Michigan’s 
staff this season, Jaskie finished 
the year with an 8-3 record and 
3.77 earned-run average in 16 
starts, while holding opponents 
to a .234 batting average. His 
119 strikeouts this year tied a 
Wolverine program record as 
well.

An All-Big Ten first-team 

selection, Jaskie is ranked as 
the 
147th-best 
prospect 
by 

MLB.com and the fifth-best 
college lefthander. His biggest 
strengths, according to MLB.
com, are his changeup and 
command of his fastball.

Junior third baseman Drew 

Lugbauer was the next Michigan 
player to be selected, by the 
Atlanta Braves in the 11th round. 
Lugbauer, 
an 
all-conference 

first-teamer, hit .290 with a 
team-leading 11 home runs and 
58 runs batted-in. His power to 
all fields as well as his versatility 
— he has also played catcher 
and first base as a Wolverine — 
makes him an enticing prospect.

Lugbauer was drafted for the 

second time Wednesday — he 
was selected in the 21st round by 
the Toronto Blue Jays out of high 
school, but did not sign.

In 
the 
16th 
round, 
the 

Cincinnati Reds picked junior 
right-hander Ryan Nutof. A hard 
thrower with a fastball clocked 
at around 95 miles per hour, 
Nutof was a key contributer to 
Michigan’s pitching staff all 
season long, going 6-2 with a 
4.52 ERA and 71 strikeouts. He 
worked a variety of roles for the 
Wolverines this season, making 
12 starts and four appearances 

out of the bullpen.

Senior 
catcher 
Harrison 

Wenson 
returned 
to 
school 

despite being chosen in the 39th 
round last year by the Pittsburgh 
Pirates, and improved upon that 
position this year when the Los 
Angeles Angels took him in the 
24th round. Despite slumping at 
the plate for much of the year — 
his average of .191 was a near-100 
point drop from his junior season 
— Wenson slugged nine home 
runs and was rock-solid behind 
the plate, as he allowed just nine 
passed balls and threw out 47 
percent of runners attempting to 
steal.

In 
the 
25th 
round, 
the 

Mariners drafted junior right-
hander Bryan Pall. Pall pitched 
just 2.2 innings this season 
before he was shut down due 
to injury, but recorded a 2.89 
ERA and 64 strikeouts his first 
two seasons working out of the 
bullpen, and was a Freshman 
All-American in 2015.

Junior first baseman Jake 

Bivens 
was 
drafted 
by 
the 

Detroit Tigers in the 27th round. 
Bivens, the Big Ten Freshman 
of the Year in 2015, hit .319 and 
.356 his first two seasons as a 
Wolverine. Despite his average 
falling to .273 this season, Bivens 
had an on-base percentage of 
.436 and a team-leading 24 stolen 
bases. Bivens played all across 
the infield his first two seasons, 
but featured exclusively at first 
base this year due to offseason 
Tommy 
John 
surgery 
that 

limited his throwing range.

Senior centerfielder Johnny 

Slater joined Jaskie and Pall as 
the third Mariners selection 
in the 28th round. Slater, a top 
prospect who was drafted by 
the Atlanta Braves out of high 
school, broke out in his final 
collegiate season as a true “five-
tool” player who can run, throw, 
field, hit for average and hit 
for power. A career .207 hitter 
before this year, Slater hit .299 
with five home runs, 47 RBIs, 
24 extra-base hits and 15 stolen 
bases while committing just one 
error in centerfield on his way to 
All-Big Ten Third Team honors.

The 28th round saw two 

Michigan players drafted, the 
second of which was junior left-
hander 
Michael 
Hendrickson 

by the Cleveland Indians. After 
throwing just 35.1 innings his 
first two seasons, Hendrickson 
broke out as a junior and asserted 
himself 
in 
the 
Wolverines’ 

weekend rotation, going 6-3 with 
a 4.06 ERA that ranked second 
among Michigan starters. He 
also held opponents to a mere 
.236 batting average.

The Tigers picked redshirt 

sophomore 
left-hander 
Grant 

Reuss in the 29th round. Reuss 
pitched sparingly last season, 
but impressed in that limited 
time — he allowed just one hit 
and struck out 11 in 6.2 innings.

Senior 
right-hander 
Mac 

Lozer was drafted in the 33rd 
round by the New York Mets. 
An All-Big Ten Third Team 
selection, Lozer was dominant as 
the Wolverines’ set-up man this 
season, recording a 1.00 ERA 
with 37 strikeouts in 27.0 inning 
and 
a 
miniscule 
opponents’ 

batting average of .138.

The final Michigan player 

selected was senior shortstop 
Michael Brdar, in the 36th round 
by the St. Louis Cardinals. Brdar, 
the Wolverines’ most consistent 
hitter last season, recorded a 
.310 batting average and 19 stolen 
bases. In the field, he made just 
three errors, and displayed a 
powerful throwing arm and 
terrific range in making several 
web-gem caliber defensive stops.

Five high-schoolers who have 

committed to play baseball at 
Michigan next year were also 
drafted this week. Stockton, 
Calif., right-hander Cody Bolton 
was a sixth-round pick of the 
Pirates, and The Record in 
Stockton reports that he has 
signed a professional contract 
and will forego his college 
commitment. Jason Pineda, a 
first baseman from New York, 
was selected by the San Diego 
Padres in the 17th round. Catcher 
Joe Donovan, from Westmont, 
Ill., was the 33rd-round selection 
of the Chicago Cubs, while 
Portage 
Central 
right-hander 

Jeff Criswell was drafted in 
the 35th round by the Tigers. 
Left-hander 
Angelo 
Smith, 

from Illinois, marked the final 
selection for Michigan commits, 
as he was chosen by the Chicago 
White Sox in the 40th and final 
round.

Eleven players selected in MLB Draft marks a program record

JACOB SHAMES

Summer Managing Sports Editor

Just five years after becoming 

the head coach of the Michigan 
baseball 
team, 
Erik 
Bakich 

has completely changed the 
program’s 
trajectory, 
taking 

the Wolverines from a 22-win 
team in 2012 to their winningest 
season since 2008 last year.

With Bakich’s original five-

year 
contract 
expiring 
this 

season, the quick turnaround 
he has engineered at one of the 
nation’s most storied programs 
has tied him to high-profile job 
openings around the country, 
including the vacancies at South 
Carolina and Stanford.

However, 
it 
appears 
that 

Bakich is staying put.

D1Baseball.com’s 
Kendall 

Rogers 
first 
reported 

Wednesday evening via Twitter 
that Bakich had turned down 
the Cardinal’s offer, and was 
committed to remaining the 
head coach at Michigan. In a 
later tweet, Rogers reported 
that Bakich was not a candidate 
for the Gamecocks’ vacancy 
either.

Bakich appeared to confirm 

this 
report 
himself 
with 
a 

statement posted to his Twitter 
account approximately an hour 
later.

“Quick note to say thank you 

to Michigan, (athletic director) 
Warde Manuel, (senior associate 
athletic director) Bitsy Ritt, our 
coaches, staff, and players for 
allowing me to continue to wear 
the block ‘M’,” Bakich wrote. “It 
is an honor and privilege to serve 
as the head baseball coach. We 
have so much to be proud of in our 
151 year tradition rich program 
and the future continues to be 
extremely bright. Those who stay 
will be champions. Thank you 
and Go Blue!”

The Detroit News had reported 

earlier this week that Manuel 
had offered Bakich a five-year 
contract extension to continue as 
the Wolverines’ coach.

Bakich coached at Maryland 

for three seasons, recording a 
record of 70-98, before taking the 
job at Michigan. In his five seasons 
in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines 
have gone 176-119, including a 
70-49 record in conference play, 
and have qualified for the NCAA 
Tournament twice, including an 
automatic bid for winning the 
Big Ten Conference tournament 
in 2015.

BASEBALL
Report: Bakich to 
remain at Michigan

JACOB SHAMES

Summer Managing Sports Editor

AARON BAKER/Daily

Erik Bakich will reportedly turn down offers from Stanford and South Carolina to 
remain the head coach of the Michigan baseball team. 

