June 5, 2012
Nashville, Tenn. – Three Vanderbilt Commodores were selected on the second day of the major league baseball draft with pitchers Sam Selman and Drew VerHagen joining shortstop Anthony Gomez.
Selman was the first Commodore to come off the board being picked early on the second day of the draft, going to the Kansas City Royals with the 66th overall pick and sixth pick of the second round. The left-hander was outstanding in his junior campaign for the Commodores leading the team with nine wins and 80 strikeouts. The junior endured a rough start to the season going 0-3 with a 10.12 ERA in his first three starts but after moving to the team’s midweek starter role, he excelled winning nine of his last 12 outings including eight straight. The lefty posted 16.2 scoreless innings late in the season before allowing a run against North Carolina State over the weekend.
VerHagen was the next Dores’ pitcher to go when the Detroit Tigers took the big right-hander late in the fourth round. The junior filled a variety of roles for VU in his first season on West End finishing with a team-best 3.50 ERA and going 6-3 in 27 games. The right-hander was instrumental to the Commodores’ late season push earning three wins and two saves in the second half of the season when the squad turned the season around. He started and picked up the win in the Southeastern Conference Tournament opener against Georgia. VerHagen becomes the third Commodore selected by the Tigers in the last two years joining Aaron Westlake and Curt Casali, who were selected last summer.
The Miami Marlins picked Gomez in the sixth round with the 197th overall pick. Gomez led the Vandy offense all season, leading the Commodores in multiple offensive categories – .353 average, 57 RBI, 90 hits – while starting every game for the second straight season to push his total to 177 straight starts. The junior posted his second straight 90-hit season and broke into the top five on the school’s career hits list moving into fourth place all-time with 267 hits in his three-year career. Gomez is in position to break the school record for hits in a career held by Dom de la Osa with 300 in his four-year career. The two-time, first team All-SEC performer also has the fifth-best career batting average with a .354 career average.
The trio joins a long list of Vanderbilt players to be selected in the draft under Head Coach Tim Corbin bringing the total to 64 selections in his 10 seasons at VU. The draft will conclude tomorrow with rounds 16-40 with several additional Commodores being potential picks.