A trio of Oregon pitchers heard their names called on the second day of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft Friday afternoon. The group includes Matt Krook, Cole Irvin and Stephen Nogosek.
Krook was taken with the 125th overall pick in the fourth round by the San Francisco Giants. A San Mateo, California native, Krook grew up rooting for the Giants and told Steve Mims of the Register Guard “It’s exciting, especially to get picked by a team I grew up watching my whole life.”
Krook finished the 2016 season with a 4-3 record and 5.03 ERA, but walked 49 batters in 53.2 innings and was removed from the Ducks’ rotation midway through the year as command issues plagued him later in the season. Krook was a freshman All American in 2014 when he struckout 60 batters in 45.1 innings and finished the year with a 1.79 ERA. The Miami Marlins selected him with the 35th pick out of high school in the 2013 draft. He sat out the 2015 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Irvin was taken with the 137th pick in the fifth round by the Philadelphia Phillies. After being selected in the 29th round in 2012 and the 32nd round last year, Irvin drastically improved his stock with a solid season for the Ducks this year.
The Yorba Linda, California, native, finished the year with a 6-4 record, 3.17 ERA and 93 strikeouts to just 16 walks in 105 innings pitched. Irvin ranks second in Oregon history in starts (47), third in innings pitched and fourth in wins.
Nogosek, a Roseville, California Native, was taken in the sixth round, with the 178th overall pick by the Boston Red Sox. Nogosek stepped into the closer role for the Ducks this season and earned first team All-Pac-12 honors after finishing the year with 16 saves, good for third in the country. He ended with a 1.11 Era and struck out 45 batters in 40.2 innings to shore up an Oregon bullpen that had no set closer at the beginning of the year.
There have been 39 Oregon players drafted since 2009, and 60 all-time.
All three of the Oregon players selected are eligible to return and play for the Ducks next season. None of them have declared if they will choose to sign or return. The deadline for amateur draft picks to sign is July 24.
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