SHSU draftees make debuts, active total to 15
7/6/2015 3:45:00 PM | Baseball
Former Sam Houston State pitcher Logan Boyd made a relief appearance on Saturday for the Boston Red Sox' Single-A Lowell Spinners, as all five Bearkats from the 2015 Major League Baseball draft class have completed professional debuts.
Alongside the Kats' top selection, Andrew Godail (Single-A Williamsport Crosscutters), Ryan Brinley (Single-A Auburn Doubledays), Collin Yelich (Gulf Coast League Braves) and Alex Bisacca (Gulf Coast League Yankees) have also made appearances with their new clubs.
“There's a lot of excitement and the first thing you've got to do is temper some of that excitement,” first-year Sam Houston head coach Matt Deggs said. “There's a little bit of surreal feeling going into your first game or two and then you look around and realize it is just baseball. It's the same game you've been playing in the backyard with your dad your whole life. They'll settle in and do a really good job.”
Yelich, the Braves' 29th round pick and lone position player from the class, has recorded hits in four of six games and is 5-for-16 (.313) at the plate. The backstop has also drawn four walks to boast a .450 on base percentage.
Meanwhile, Brinley, the Washington Nationals' 27th rounder, made two appearances with the Gulf Coast League Nationals before being promoted to Single-A Auburn. The righty has tossed a combined five innings, allowing four hits and just one run while striking out two.
Godail has logged 4 1-3 innings pitched, allowing three hits and two earned runs with Williamsport since being selected in the 26th round by the Philadelphia Phillies. The left-hander has held opponents to a .200 average since making his debut on June 22.
Bisacca, the Yankees' 35th rounder, earned his pro debut on Thursday, logging 2-3 innings, allowing one hit and a walk while fanning another. Like the righty, Boyd saw mixed results in his opener, allowing three hits and two earned runs in his lone relief outing.
With the program-tying five Bearkats' draftees all logging appearances, a whopping 15 Sam Houston players are active professionally including Toronto Blue Jays' relief pitcher Ryan Tepera.
“It speaks for the level of baseball we play at Sam Houston State,” Deggs said. “There are a lot of really good schools around the country that don't have 15 guys actively playing. It's a great spot. We've got everything it takes to win on a high level when you talk about support, facilities and location.”
Over the weekend, Tepera posted two appearances, holding the Detroit Tigers scoreless in 2 1-3 innings while striking out two and walking another. In 15 1-3 innings with the Blue Jays this season, the righty boasts a 2.35 ERA highlighted by 12 strikeouts.
A pair of Bearkats struck out seven in their last start including Trenton Thunder (Yankees Double-A) pitcher Caleb Smith (6-4) over six innings in a win on Thursday and Great Lakes Loons' (Dodgers Single-A) Matt Shelton (1-0) over eight innings of work, allowing two hits and one run on Sunday. The same day, Cody Dickson of the Pirates' Single-A Bradenton Marauders fanned four in five innings of work, allowing five hits.
Elsewhere on the mound, Dallas Gallant notched a pair of scoreless outings in relief for the Fort Myers Miracle (Twins Single-A) on Thursday and Saturday. In six appearances with the Miracle, where he has been rehabbing with a finger injury, the righty has allowed just one run and struck out an impressive 14 hitters in 8 1-3 innings.
Ryan O'Hearn continued his hot streak with the Royals' Single-A Lexington Legends, pushing his hit-streak to 11 games. In that span, the South Atlantic League Home Run Derby champion is hitting .365 (15-for-41) with 10 RBIs.
Legends teammate and fellow Bearkat Corey Toups has been equally as impressive of late, posting a three-hit performance on Sunday while boosting his average to .425 (17-for-40) over the past 10 games. Toups has recorded four three-hit outings in his last seven games.
“There are a ton of good players in the Houston, East Texas, Dallas and Central Texas areas,” Deggs said. “Sam Houston has done a great job at cultivating that and recruiting the kind of guys that have the ability to play at the next level. It paves the way for us moving forward.”
