June 10, 2015
Senior Tanner Donnels and junior Michael Silva were taken on the final day of the 2015 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, running LMU's total of drafted players to five for the year.
Donnels was selected with the 640th overall pick in the 21st round by the Detroit Tigers, while Silva was called in the 25th round (756 overall) by the San Francisco Giants. The duo joins David Fletcher (6th round, Los Angeles Angels), Trevor Megill (7th round, San Diego Padres) and Colin Welmon (8th round, Colorado Rockies) to produces LMU's most lucrative draft since 2000 - when the Lions also had five players taken.
Donnels, a native of Coto de Caza, Calif., made a smooth transition from the outfield to first base prior to his senior year. The position change did little to affect his offensive output as he batted .308 with a team-high 20 doubles, six homers and 35 RBI. The son of former Major Leaguer, and LMU Hall of Famer, Chris Donnels, he slugged .498 and reached at a .401 clip while fielding .996 and scoring 36 runs. Over his four years at LMU, Donnels batted .291 with 43 doubles, eight homers and 96 RBI.
Silva had a breakout junior season for the Lions in 2015, emerging as one of LMU's top options out of the bullpen. The hard-throwing right-hander made a team-high 31 appearances, pitching to a 3-2 record and a 2.77 ERA over 39.0 innings of work. A native of Valencia, Calif., he allowed just a .187 batting average against while striking out 40 hitters.
LMU finished the 2015 season at 33-21-1, playing for the WCC Championship for the second straight year. The Lions reached 30 wins for the fourth time in seven years under head coach Jason Gill, and the 33 wins were the most since recording 40 in 2000 (40-19).
