Duke Baseball had six players recently selected in the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft after historic regular season.
After making their first NCAA Tournament appearance in over 50 years, Duke Baseball had six current, former, and future players selected in the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft. Three Duke commits and three players on the roster this year were picked by professional baseball teams over the weekend.
Incoming Blue Devil Will Benson led the way after being selected in the first round 14th overall by the Cleveland Indians. Benson is “one of the best high school players in the country” and has a “unique combination of size, strength and speed”. The 6-5 lefty plays outfielder and first base and earned Rawlings-Perfect Game First Team High School All-America honors after his senior year. He has also competed for the USA 18U National Team in the 18U Baseball World Cup.
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Duke Baseball junior Bailey Clark was drafted in the 5th round of the MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs. As a right-handed pitcher, Clark led the Blue Devils in strikeouts per game and finished 6th overall in the conference with 9.71. He is the second ever Duke baseball player to compete with the U.S. Collegiate National Team and head coach Chris Pollard says that Clark is “one of the most gifted players physically” he’s ever coached and will be able to succeed as a pitcher in the MLB.
Another incoming recruit, left-handed pitcher Adam Laskey, was picked by the San Francisco Giants in the 31st round of the draft. As a senior, Laskey went undefeated as a starting pitcher and struck out 56 batters. He also earned Rawlings-Perfect Game All-America honors being named to the Third Team.
Redshirt sophomore James Ziemba was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies as a 37th round pick. Ziemba is a very interesting pro prospect as an extremely tall left-handed pitcher who is 6-10. Coach Pollard notes that his hard work ethic and leadership helped him improve his technique and mechanics to earn an MLB Draft selection this year.
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Graduate student pitcher Brian McAfee was drafted in the 38th round by the Tampa Bay Rays. The right-hander excelled for the Blue Devils after transferring from Cornell to play in his final year of NCAA eligibility this past season. While enrolled in the Fuqua School of Business, McAfee started in 14 games and led the team in total number of innings pitched in addition to leading the ACC with the fewest walks allowed per game (1.27).
Incoming Duke freshman Matt Mervis was the final Blue Devil selected, picked by the Washington Nationals in the 39th round of the MLB Draft. The infielder/pitcher was named a high school All-America Honorable Mention this season and will compete in the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars featuring the top youth baseball players in the country.
Head coach Chris Pollard has done a great job of turning around the Duke Baseball program after leading the team to their first NCAA postseason appearance since 1961. Congrats to all of the current, former, and future Blue Devils selected in the 2016 MLB Draft!