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June 7, 2005
Justin Thomas Drafted In Fourth Round By Seattle Mariners
Youngstown -- Youngstown State
junior pitcher Justin Thomas was
drafted by the Seattle Mariners in
the fourth round as the 113th
overall pick in Tuesday's Major
League Baseball First-Year Player
Draft.
Thomas, a 6-foot-3-inch lefty from Oregon, Ohio, was the
third pick in the fourth round and
is the
eighth Penguin to be drafted or sign a professional
contract in seven years. His fourth
round selection is also the
third-highest in school history
behind Brad Hennessey (first round,
2001) and Chris Durkin (third round,
1991).
"Justin's just been a
great player and person for us," YSU
head coach Mike Florak said. "He and
his family have meant a lot to the
program, and it's a happy day for
everyone involved."
"He's going to keep getting better and better. He's got a
very good fastball and slider, but
what separates him is his
competitiveness. He does whatever it
takes to win," Florak said.
In just three years at YSU, Thomas set himself apart as one
of the top pitchers in school
history. He leaves ranked second
all-time in career strikeouts with
250 - one behind former Major
Leaguer Dave Dravecky - and third in
career starts with 36 and career
innings pitched with 253 1/3. He is
also ranked sixth all-time in career
victories with 19, and he was the
first pitcher in school history to
earn seven wins in consecutive
seasons. His 14 starts as both a
sophomore and a junior set the
school record, and he set the school
mark in innings pitched in a season
with 93 1/3 in 2004.
As a junior, he was named the Horizon League's Pitcher of the
Year after posting a 7-5 record with
a 3.42 ERA and a career-high 88
strikeouts. He was dominant in
League contests, posting a 3-1 mark
with a 2.00 ERA. In his three
conference wins against Cleveland
State, Wright State and
UW-Milwaukee, he allowed a total of
one earned run in 27 innings for an
ERA of 0.33. He also struck out 33
hitters in those 27 innings. He was
also named the Horizon League
Pitcher of the Week twice and was
named to the Collegiate Baseball
Foundation's National Honor Roll
three times.
In his sophomore campaign, he finished 7-3 and struck out 82
hitters in 93 1/3 innings to be
named Second-Team All-Horizon
League. He earned the win against
Butler in the first round of the
Horizon League Championship and
later started against the No. 1
Texas Longhorns in Youngstown
State's first-ever game in the
Division I NCAA Tournament.
Thomas is the fifth player to be drafted in Florak's seven
years at the helm of the Penguins.
In addition to Hennessey, Matt
Brumit was taken in the 44th round
by the Yankees in 2002, Mike Abdalla
was chosen in the 40th round by
Kansas City in 2000, and Mark Thomas
was taken in the 21st round by
Montreal in 1999. |
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