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Three More Blue Devils Drafted On Day Three
6/11/2009 3:45:00 PM | Baseball
DURHAM, N.C. ? A record-breaking draft for the Duke baseball team ended with three third-day selections, giving the Blue Devil baseball program a school-record seven players taken in the 2009 MLB First Year Player Draft, which concluded on Thursday.
Among Duke's day three selections were junior left-handed pitcher Christopher Manno (38th Round ? Washington Nationals), senior outfielder Tim Sherlock (40th Round ? Arizona Diamondbacks) and junior right-handed pitcher Michael Ness (47th Round ? San Francisco Giants).
Those three joined a group of four other Duke players who were drafted on day two: senior first baseman Nate Freiman (8th Round ? San Diego Padres), senior right-handed pitcher Andrew Wolcott (17th Round ? Arizona Diamondbacks), senior catcher Matt Williams (18th Round ? Chicago Cubs) and junior right-handed pitcher/outfielder Alex Hassan (20th Round ? Boston Red Sox).
Along with those seven ? which tops the program's previous high of four, set in 1996 ? Duke also had three incoming recruits selected in catcher Steven Baron (Compensation Round A ? Seattle Mariners), shortstop and pitcher Marcus Stroman (18th Round ? Washington Nationals) and left-handed pitcher Cameron Coffey (22nd Round ? Baltimore Orioles).
The seven draft picks tied for the third most in the ACC alongside North Carolina, which also had seven. Clemson's nine selections were the most in the conference, while Miami followed with eight picks. ACC Champion Virginia had five, Boston College, NC State and Georgia Tech had four and Florida State had three picks. Virginia Tech and Maryland each had two selections, and Wake Forest had one to round out the 56 selections from the ACC.
Under fourth year head coach Sean McNally, Duke has now had 10 players drafted, including top-10 round picks Freiman and Jimmy Gallagher (7th Round, 2007 ? Chicago White Sox).
2009 MLB Draft
Day Three (Rounds 31-50)
Duke Baseball Players
Individual Highlights
Junior ? Left-handed Pitcher (Starter)
Ht: 6-1 Wt: 160 B/T: L/L
Brooklyn, N.Y. (Xaverian)
Drafted: 38th Round (1132nd Overall) by the Washington Nationals
Manno once again led the Duke pitching staff in strikeouts (72) as the Blue Devils' Friday starter. A 6-2 left-hander, Manno logged a 4.89 ERA and a 5-6 record, but enjoyed a tremendous second half of the season. Over his final nine starts, Manno had a 3.65 ERA ? the lowest among Duke starters during that span ? thanks to improved command that yielded 54 strikeouts, compared to 20 walks, in 49.1 innings. Manno put up two 10-strikeout games during that run, both of which were wins against Boston College and No. 7 Georgia Tech. His efforts were good enough to prompt the Nationals to use a 38th round pick on him, making him the first Blue Devil selected on day three of the draft.
Senior ? Outfield/Left-Handed Pitcher (Drafted as an OF)
Ht: 6-0 Wt: 180 B/T: L/L
Scottsdale, Ariz. (Chaparral)
Drafted: 40th Round (1206th Overall) by the Arizona Diamondbacks
After playing strictly in the outfield in his first three years at Duke, Sherlock took on pitching duties as a senior and finished with a 1.69 ERA through 10 appearances. It was his bat, however, that drew the attention of the Diamondbacks, who grabbed him in the 40th round to go along with Duke classmate Andrew Wolcott, who they drafted in the 17th round. A left-handed batter, Sherlock cracked three homers as a senior, all of which were against ACC teams. Two of those came in a series win over No. 1 North Carolina while the last one left the yard in a series win over No. 7 Georgia Tech.
Junior ? Right-Handed Pitcher (Reliever)
Ht: 6-4 Wt: 215 B/T: R/R
Chatham, N.J. (Seton Hall Prep)
Drafted: 47th Round (1407th Overall) by the San Francisco Giants
Ness solidified his role as one of the best relievers in the ACC in 2009 after posting a 2.44 ERA, three saves and a 2-2 record through a bullpen-leading 44.1 innings as a junior. Ness' success was tied to his control, as he issued just 11 walks on the year while chalking up 38 strikeouts and holding the opposition to a .250 average. A workhorse out of the pen, Ness went more than one inning in 19 of his 25 appearances and at least three frames four times. He had the sixth-lowest ERA among ACC relievers who threw at least 30 innings and has improved statically every year he has been at Duke in strikeouts per game, walks per game, earned run average and opponent batting average. His consistent success drew the attention of the Giants, who used their 47th round pick to select the junior reliever.
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