Mustang News Staff Report
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Major League Baseball’s First-Year Player Draft commenced this past Thursday night and saw junior pitcher Matt Imhof selected in the second round — 47th overall — by the Philadelphia Phillies making him the third-highest Cal Poly player ever selected. He won 10 of his 15 starts in his junior season, while sporting a 2.45 ERA.
Three more Cal Poly players were taken Friday when rounds three through 10 were completed. Junior outfielder Nick Torres was selected in the fourth round, 117th overall, by the San Diego Padres. Torres maintained a .322 batting average while hitting third in the Cal Poly batting order this season.
In the seventh round, the Toronto Blue Jays snagged junior outfielder Zach Zehner, who hit .316 with 16 RBIs in 44 starts in his first season at Cal Poly.
Junior pitcher Reed Reilly was drafted No. 224 overall in the seventh round by the Boston Red Sox. Reilly’s 27 career saves is the most in Cal Poly baseball Division I history, earning him first-team All-Big West Conference honors in all three seasons at Cal Poly.
The three-day event concluded with the last 30 rounds on Saturday.
Senior third baseman Jimmy Allen and senior catcher Chris Hoo were taken in the 24th and 27th rounds, respectively. This season, Allen, Cal Poly’s all-time hits leader led the Mustangs with six home runs — tied with Torres — and finished his career with 174 straight starts at third base. It was the third time in his career that he was drafted after getting a nod from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the 39th round out of high school and the Boston Red Sox in the 23rd round of last year’s draft.
Hoo was named Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2014 as he threw out 21 runners attempting to steal bases, which led the conference.
Cal Poly recruit Logan Webb of Rocklin High School was drafted in the fourth round, 118th overall, by the San Francisco Giants. The pitcher has not yet decided whether he will choose collegiate baseball or sign with the Giants.
Overall, six Mustangs were selected in the 2014 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, bringing the total number of players drafted in the Larry Lee era to 58.
Nick Larson contributed to this report.