June 10, 2009
SECAUCUS, N.J. -- Four Baylor baseball student-athletes were selected Wednesday in the first seven rounds of the second day of the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Including first-rounder Aaron Miller, five Bears have been selected through the first 10 rounds of this year's draft - tying the 2005 squad for the most top-10-round selections in Baylor baseball history.
Shortstop Shaver Hansen was taken by the Seattle Mariners with the second pick of sixth round (173rd overall), while first baseman Dustin Dickerson was taken 15 picks later by the Florida Marlins. Right-handed pitcher Craig Fritsch was taken by the Detroit Tigers with the ninth pick of the eighth round (240th overall), and right-hander Kendal Volz was selected by the Boston Red Sox with the 27th pick of the ninth round (288th overall).
A product of Fruita Monument High School in Grand Junction, Colo., Hansen hit .330 with 17 home runs, 59 RBI, 15 doubles, a .633 slugging percentage and five stolen bases in 2009. He established a school record for home runs in a season by a shortstop, and his 2009 homer total tied for the sixth-best season tally in program history. Hansen, a 2008 first-team All-Big 12 Conference selection, totes a .318 career average with 26 home runs, 141 RBI, 45 doubles, seven triples, a .538 slugging percentage and 20 stolen bases.
Dickerson, a product of Waco's Midway High School, led the Bears with a .377 batting average in 2008 and ranked second in the Big 12 in that category. He also produced 10 home runs, 47 RBI, 16 doubles, 86 hits and 50 runs en route to first-team All-Big 12 honors. Dickerson turned in a 24-game hitting streak that was the longest in the Big 12 this season and the third-longest in Baylor history; he also hit safely in 39 of the season's final 41 games. Dickerson has posted a .330 career average with 17 home runs, 114 RBI, 44 doubles, 210 hits and 134 runs scored.
Fritsch, who prepped at Round Rock [Texas] High School, was 4-5 with a 5.09 ERA and one save in 2008. However, he was strong down the stretch, going 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA during his last seven outings; he allowed only two earned runs with 22 strikeouts over 20.0 innings during that time. Fritsch, a redshirt sophomore, is 7-9 with a 4.95 ERA and 99 strikeouts over 107.1 innings during his Baylor career.
A 2009 honorable mention All-Big 12 selection, Volz was 3-7 with a 4.50 ERA and two saves in 2009. The Smithson Valley [Texas] High School product logged 78 strikeouts in 86.0 innings over 15 appearances with 12 starts. Plagued by poor run support much of his career, Volz is 12-15 with a 4.61 ERA during his Baylor career. His 228 career strikeouts rank ninth on Baylor's all-time list.
One Baylor signee also was drafted in the first 10 rounds as Medina Valley [Texas] High School left-handed pitcher Zackry Dodson was a fourth-round selection of the Pittsburgh Pirates (115th overall).
The MLB Draft continues throughout the day Wednesday with second-day activity concluding at the end of the 30th round. The draft concludes Thursday with rounds 31 through 50.
2009 BAYLOR BASEBALL DRAFTEES
Player, position Organization Round Overall
Aaron Miller, LHP Los Angeles Dodgers 1st (sup.) 36th
*Zackry Dodson, LHP Pittsburgh Pirates 4th 115th
Shaver Hansen, SS Seattle Mariners 6th 173rd
Dustin Dickerson, 1B Florida Marlins 6th 188th
Craig Fritsch, RHP Detroit Tigers 8th 240th
Kendal Volz, RHP Boston Red Sox 9th 288th
* - signee
