Buck, Gillespie Lead OSU Baseball Draftees
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State had four players selected Tuesday during the first day of the Major League Baseball amateur draft, with all four Beavers being taken in the first seven rounds. All four were juniors from Oregon high schools, and they’ll be playing for No. 8-ranked OSU when the Beavers host Stanford in the NCAA Corvallis Super Regional this Saturday through Monday at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field.
Righthanded pitcher Dallas Buck (Newberg, Ore./Newberg HS) went in the third round to the Arizona Diamondbacks; he was the 86th player taken overall. Outfielder Cole Gillespie (West Linn, Ore./West Linn HS) went in the third round to the Milwaukee Brewers; he was the 92nd player taken overall. Lefthanded pitcher Kevin Gunderson (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic HS) went in the fifth round to the Atlanta Braves; he was the 160th player taken overall. Righthanded pitcher Jonah Nickerson (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City HS) went in the seventh round to the Detroit Tigers; he was the 202nd player taken overall.
The four players going in the top seven rounds is the highest any quartet of OSU players has ever been drafted. The previous best was in 1977, when four Beavers were picked in the top 11 rounds – pitcher Scott Anderson in the fourth round by Montreal, shortstop Jeff Doyle in the sixth round by St. Louis, catcher Pete Rowe in the 11th round by Toronto, and pitcher Tom Chamberlain in the 11th round by St. Louis.
The first 18 rounds of the draft were held on Tuesday, with the 19th through 50th rounds scheduled for Wednesday.
