June 7, 2011
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Minnesota Twins took a pair of Lion players on Tuesday as part of the second day of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft. The Twins selected junior left-hander Jason Wheeler with the 268th overall pick in the eighth round before the Colorado Rockies made junior righty Alex Gillingham their 11th-round pick with the 348th overall spot. After the two Lion hurlers went in the draft, the Twins decided to take their batterymate, Matt Koch, with the 388th overall pick in the 12th round. Koch was selected in the 22nd round of the 2010 draft by the Tampa Bay Rays before electing to return to LMU for his redshirt-junior year. This year's draft marks the first time since 2005 that the Lions have had three players selected in the first 12 rounds.
LMU standout recruits Adam Ehrlich (sixth round, 200th overall by St. Louis) and Kyle Raubinger (28th round, 845th overall by Baltimore) were also taken on Tuesday.
Wheeler was LMU's Friday starter throughout the year, finishing the season with a 6-4 record and a 3.84 ERA over 14 starts and 103 innings of work. The 6'6" lefty dealt three complete games, including one complete-game shutout, to go along with 71 strikeouts. The complete-game shutout was Wheeler's first career complete game and came at Santa Clara on April 8 to open West Coast Conference play.
Gillingham, a first team All-West Coast Conference selection, finished the year with a team-best 2.49 ERA and an 8-4 record. The ERA was the best amongst starting pitchers in the WCC. The right-hander tossed a team and WCC-high 112 innings en route to four complete games. A native of Thousand Oaks, Calif., Gillingham struck out 78 hitters while holding opponents to a .247 batting average against. Gillingham was a workhorse throughout the year, tossing at least seven innings in 13 of his 14 starts, including eight or more in 11 of the 14. In addition, two of his four losses came in complete-game efforts, as he received a combined five runs of support in the four losses.
Koch, who also garnered first team All-WCC honors, batted .313 with 30 runs scored, 22 doubles, a triple, four home runs and 39 RBI over the course of the 2011 season. The 22 doubles, which ranked second in the conference, placed tied for eighth in the LMU single-season record book, while his .483 slugging percentage placed eighth in the WCC this year. In conference play alone, Koch hit .321 with 12 runs scored, six doubles, a homer and a triple. He slugged .457 against conference foes, driving in 13 runs. The right-hander hitter finished the season strong, garnering WCC Player of the Month accolades for the month of May.
The draft will continue tomorrow, with rounds 31-50 scheduled to be selected.
