Eight Trojans chosen in Major League Draft


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After just missing qualification for a Super Regional in the NCAA Tournament, eight Trojans were drafted in the Major League Baseball First Year Draft. The Trojans’ eight draft selections were the most in one draft for the program since 1999. Since the draft began in 1965, USC has seen 316 players drafted.

The first to be drafted was junior left-handed pitcher Tyler Gilbert, who was picked by the Philadelphia Phillies in the sixth round. He is the first Trojan — 11th overall — to be drafted by the Phillies since Wes Rachels in 1998.

Gilbert had the second-lowest ERA on the team. In his one year with the Trojans, Gilbert had a 5-2 record and 2.79 ERA in 67.2 innings pitched. He started six of his 22 appearances, striking out 66 batters — second most in the program. Gilbert came up big in postseason play, tallying up a save and a win. He earned the save in the 12-3 win against UC Santa Barbara and the 12-11 win against San Diego State.

Senior catcher Garrett Stubbs was drafted by the Houston Astros in the eighth round of the draft. Stubbs racked up a number of postseason honors; most notably, he is one of three finalists for the Johnny Bench Award, awarded to the nation’s top collegiate catcher. Stubbs is USC’s second finalist for the award; Jeff Clement won the award in 2005. The winner will be announced June 25th.

Stubbs also was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-Pac-12 and was named catcher of the           Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. In the NCAA Regional, Stubbs led the team with a .563 batting average and caught all 38 innings in four games, earning the Lake Elsinore Regional MVP and All-Regional team honors. He also had a stellar regular season, starting 59 games. He threw out 52.8 percent of stealers, led the team with 20 stolen bases and was second on the team with a .346 batting average.

Junior left-handed pitcher Kyle Twomey was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 13th round.  He becomes the seventh Trojan drafted by the Cubs and the first since Mark Prior was drafted second overall in the 2001 draft. As the Saturday starter this season, Twomey finished with an 8-2 record in 16 starts, with 68 strikeouts in 93.2 innings. He threw the most innings and racked up a 2.88 ERA—the lowest of any starter. Additionally, he was named an All-Pac-12 honorable mention this season.

Junior right-handed pitcher Brent Wheatley was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 17th round. Wheatley is the 17th Trojan to be drafted by the Athletics and the first since 2011 when Shane Boras was drafted in the 39th round in 2011. Wheatley started off the season as the Trojans’ Friday night ace, but eventually moved to the bullpen. He had nine starts in 17 appearances with a 4-4 record, 4.50 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 70 innings.

Senior second baseman Dante Flores was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 18th round. He is the 13th Trojan drafted by the White Sox and the third drafted in the last five years. As a four-year starter, Flores had a .304 batting average and drove in 43 runs — both third-highest on the team — in 59 games played. Flores was named an All-Pac-12 honorable mention.

Redshirt junior Bobby Stahel was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 20th round. He is only the third Trojan to be drafted by the Rockies. Stahel was second in the conference with a .376 batting average — 26th best average nationally. He also led the team with a .514 slugging percentage. Stahel earned First Team All-Pac-12 honors, ABCA All-West Region First Team and was a semifinalist for the Gregg Olson Award — awarded to the nation’s top breakout player.

Junior right-handed pitcher Kyle Davis was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 29th round. He is the 10th Trojan to be selected by the Blue Jays — the most recent being Bob Wheatley in 2014 in the 26th round. Davis, who was hampered by injuries this season, began in the bullpen and started the final four Friday games as the team’s ace. In his first start of the year, Davis pitched a complete game shutout against Stanford. In the Lake Elsinore Regional, Davis pitched a no-hitter through seven innings against Virginia. He had five starts in 20 games with a 3-3 record, 45 strikeouts and a 4.05 ERA in 53.1 innings.

The eighth and final Trojan drafted in 2015 was senior infielder Angelo La Bruna, who was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 33rd round. He is the 11th Trojan drafted by the Nationals overall, with the last being pitcher Tommy Milone in the 10th round in 2008.  La Bruna started 22 games at shortstop and appeared in a total of 39 games. He had a .250 batting average. He only committed six errors all season and recorded 46 putouts. As a political science major, he was named to the Pac-12 All-Academic Second Team.

The non-seniors have a difficult decision to make, as they will have to decide between returning to USC for another season or signing a contract with their new teams.