June 9, 2016
Sheffield Highlights | Sheffield Draft Announcement
Bowden Highlights | Bowden Draft Announcement
Reynolds Highlights | Reynolds Draft Announcement
Nashville, Tenn. — Three Vanderbilt Commodores were selected on the first day of the major league baseball draft with Jordan Sheffield, Ben Bowden and Bryan Reynolds being selected.
Sheffield was selected 36th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Lottery A round between the first and second round. Sheffield headlined Vanderbilt’s weekend starting rotation during the Commodores’ 2016 season leading the team with eight wins, a 3.01 ERA and 113 strikeouts. The right-hander was a three-time winner of the SEC Pitcher of the Week award during the regular season. His first performance against Xavier earned him his first weekly honor with the sophomore punching out a then career-high 12 over 7.2 one-hit innings to beat the Musketeers. Sheffield topped that outing with his first career shutout on April 15 against Kentucky, fanning a career-best 14 while scattering just five hits. The shutout began a streak of 32 straight innings without an earned run allowed, including 24 consecutive scoreless innings over three starts. The Tullahoma, Tenn. native’s third weekly honor came at the end of the scoreless inning streak when he blanked Georgia over seven innings with just one walk and six strikeouts.
Sheffield joins fellow pitchers and former Commodores Walker Buehler and Philip Pfeifer, who were selected by the Dodgers last season in the first and third rounds respectively.
The Colorado Rockies selected Ben Bowden 45th overall. Bowden split time between the Commodores’ starting rotation and the team’s closing role. The big lefty went 2-1 with a 3.51 ERA and a team-high 10 saves. He started five games and pitched in 19 more, punching out 65 over 48.2 innings. After his move to the bullpen in late March, Bowden did not allow a run over his first 10 outings covering 13.1 innings and collecting six saves. As a starter, the Lynn, Mass. Native went 2-0 with a 4.68 ERA in five starts. Bowden becomes the first Commodore selected by Colorado since 2010 when Russell Brewer was picked in the 31st round.
Reynolds was the third Vanderbilt player off the board on the first night of the draft, going 59th overall to the San Francisco Giants. Reynolds posted one of the most productive careers in Vanderbilt history, ending his three-year career with the ninth-most hits in school history with 260, including a pair of 90-plus hit seasons. The Brentwood, Tenn. native enjoyed a power surge during his junior season hitting a team-high 13 home runs while scoring 59 runs and driving in 57 runs. He played in all 206 of Vanderbilt’s games during his three seasons on West End starting 204 games, including all 62 this season. The switch hitter received multiple accolades during his VU career being named second team All-SEC by the league’s coaches this year, the 2016 SEC All-Tournament team, 2015 College World Series All-Tournament team, 2014 Freshman All-American and a 2014 Freshman All-SEC pick.
Reynolds joins former Commodore Tyler Beede in the Giants organization after Beede was the 14th overall pick of the Giants in 2014.
Vanderbilt has now produced 69 picks in the first 10 rounds of the draft and has had at least one Commodore selected in every draft since 1991.
The MLB Draft continues tomorrow with rounds 3-10 and concludes on Saturday with rounds 11-40.
3 #VandyBoys headed west w/ Sheffield, Bowden, Reynolds drafted on 1st day of @MLBDraft. https://t.co/IGbgIJg3kW pic.twitter.com/DKSFqMeOvr
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBaseball) June 10, 2016