Right-handed pitchers Wes Cox and Ryan Talley went through all forty rounds of the 2014 MLB First Year Player Draft without being selected by a club. However, both were signed by Major League organizations.
Cox, who was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers organization, went 7-2 with a 2.28 ERA in his senior season at the University of Texas - San Antonio. The 22-year-old reliever made 28 appearances in 2014 for the Roadrunners - tossing 55 1/3 innings - and punched out 49 batters while walking 25. His longest appearance of his senior season came against Middle Tennessee on May 3rd. He pitched 4 2/3 shutout innings while allowing just three hits and a walk. He threw 64 pitches that game and struck out one batter. His longest appearance of his senior season - in terms of pitches thrown - came on February 25th against Dallas Baptist. He threw 78 pitches that game and allowed just one run in 4 1/3 innings of work. He also surrenders five walks and a couple of hits, but he had five strikeouts in that game as well. Although he averaged just over 30 pitches a game, it'll be interesting to see if Cox is used as a starting pitcher at some point in his Minor League career by the Milwaukee Brewers organization. For the time being, it seems he will be used as a relief pitcher and work out of the bullpen.
Cox made his professional debut on June 22nd, making a relief appearance for Milwaukee's Rookie Ball affiliate - the Helena Brewers. He entered the game with a four run lead in the 9th inning. He got the job done - as he pitched one inning while allowing a hit and a walk. He also had two strikeouts in his one inning of relief. However, Cox's second (and most recent) appearance for Helena last Friday didn't go as smoothly. He was knocked around in his one inning of relief - allowing two runs on three hits and a walk.
Meanwhile, 23-year-old right-handed pitcher Ryan Talley was signed by the Los Angeles Angels organization. After transferring to UTSA from Weatherford Junior College in 2013, Talley was red-shirted and sat out his entire junior season with an arm injury. His senior season was shortened by injuries as well. He made just on appearance for the Roadrunners in 2014. It came on April 18th against Old Dominion. He pitched one inning while allowing a hit, a walk and one earned run. He also had a couple of strikeouts in the lone appearance of his senior season. After a workout this summer, the Los Angeles Angels signed Talley to a deal and assigned him to the Arizona League Angels - the organization's Rookie Ball affiliate. Entering Monday, he has yet to make an appearance for the team.
A total of four players who attended the University of Texas - San Antonio this year were drafted in the 2014 MLB First Year Player Draft in early June. Here are some news and notes on those players:
21-year-old right-handed pitcher Justin Anderson was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the 14th round. In his freshman and sophomore season at UTSA, Anderson as a two-way player - who played in the outfield and made appearances on the mound. In his freshman year, he hit .324 and drove in 15 runs while on the mound he posted a less than impressive 6.63 ERA in 55 1/3 innings. The following season, Anderson only played in ten games as a position player and made just seven appearances (three starts) as a pitcher. He hit just .072 (1-for-14) and on the mound he posted a 6.30 ERA in ten innings of work. This year, Anderson gave up hitting and stuck to pitching and it paid off. He made 17 appearances (13 starts) for the Roadrunners in 2014 and posted a 2.92 ERA in 74 innings of work. He also racked up 54 strikeouts. Despite averaging 70 pitches a game and 81 pitches a start, the Angels are trying to ease Anderson into his professional career by limiting his workload. He has begun his professional career working mostly out of the bullpen and pitching a menial amount of innings per game. After being assigned to the Orem Owlz - the other Rookie Ball affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels - Anderson made his professional debut on June 18th. He pitched a perfect inning of relief and struck out one batter. His next appearance for Orem was a start. However, he only pitched two shutout innings before being replaced. He surrendered just two hits and had one strikeout in his first professional start. In his most recent appearance on Sunday, Anderson pitched three shutout innings while allowing just one hit and striking out a batter. Through his first three professional appearances, Anderson has pitched a total of six shutout innings while piling up three strikeouts. He also has yet to allow a walk and has a groundball-to-flyball ratio of 4.
22-year-old right-handed pitcher Matt Sims was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 28th round. His junior and senior seasons were the best of his collegiate career. In his junior season, Sims made posted a 2.31 ERA while striking out 61 batters in 58 1/3 innings of work. He finished the season with a 6-3 record and a team-high eight saves. He also received the 2013 WAC Tournament Most Valuable Player Award - as he pitched 11 2/3 shutout innings and picked up two wins in the 2013 WAC Tournament. This year, Sims made 23 appearances and posted a 3.00 ERA while racking up 41 strikeouts in 39 innings of work. After agreeing to terms with the Braves, he was assigned to the Danville Braves - the organization's Rookie Ball affiliate. He made his professional debut last Friday - pitching one scoreless inning while punching out a batter and surrendering one walk. Entering Monday, that has been his lone professional appearance with the club.
22-year-old left-handed pitcher Michael Kraft was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 37th round. In 12 appearances (three starts) for the Roadrunners this year, Kraft posted a 2.04 ERA in 17 2/3 innings pitched. He also had 23 strikeouts, eight walks and of the ten hits he surrendered, only one of them was for extra-bases. Kraft signed with the Blue Jays and was assigned to the Bluefield Blue Jays - the organization's Rookie Ball affiliate. He made his debut on June 21st - tossing two scoreless innings while giving up just one walk. His next appearance came four days later and he pitched a perfect inning of relief while striking out one batter. His third (and most recent) appearance came on Sunday - as he pitched two scoreless frames while striking out two batters and surrendering two hits. Through his first three appearances, Kraft has tossed four shutout innings while allowing just two hits and a walk. He also has three strikeouts and a groundball-to-flyball ratio of 3.
21-year-old catcher John Bormann was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the 19th round. However, he has decided to return to UTSA for his senior year. This past season, Bormann hit .288 in 237 plate appearances. He also launched four homers and drove in 24 runs.