University of Minnesota Athletics
Three Gophers Selected in MLB Draft
6/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
For the 13th straight year, at least one Golden Gophers pitcher was selected in the Major League Baseball Draft. Lance Thonvold, Dalton Sawyer and Ben Meyer, who played under the tutelage of pitching coach Todd Oakes and 2015 interim pitching coach Scott Matyas, were all selected Wednesday.
Thonvold, a redshirt junior in 2015, was picked 725th overall by the Seattle Mariners in the 24th round. The right-hander had one of Minnesota's best opponent batting averages at .222 this spring. Thonvold appeared 17 times out of the bullpen for a total of 16 1/3 innings pitched. He had a 7.71 ERA and 1-2 record, with 13 strikeouts and 10 walks.
The left-handed Sawyer, a junior, went to the Minnesota Twins in the 27th round as the 800th overall pick. Like Thonvold, Sawyer also held opposing batters to a .222 average in 2015. He made 15 appearances, including eight starts, and pitched the first seven innings of the Gophers' combined no-hitter at Creighton. Sawyer had a 4.53 ERA, 4-3 record, 38 strikeouts and 32 walks in 49 2/3 innings pitched.
Graduating senior right-hander Meyer was chosen in the 29th round as the 866th pick by the Miami Marlins. The Gophers' 2015 pitcher of the year started the first game of all 14 weekends of the season. He led the team with 71 strikeouts and 87 2/3 innings pitched. Meyer had a 4.31 ERA and 4-6 record. He finished his career with 288 innings (second in school history), 219 strikeouts (seventh in school history) and a 3.07 ERA.
The three draft picks extend Minnesota's streak to 28 consecutive years with at least one player drafted. Ninety-three Gophers have been selected during John Anderson's tenure.
