NEW YORK – Cal State Fullerton had four of its players selected on day two of the 2016 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Friday.
Chad Hockin, Dalton Blaser, Dylan Prohoroff and Blake Quinn were all selected on the second day of the MLB Draft, marking the 42nd straight season Cal State Fullerton has had at least one player selected in the MLB Draft.
Hockin was the first Titans player off the board on Friday, taken in the sixth round with the 194th overall selection by the Chicago Cubs. Hockin set a new career high with 20 appearances for the Titans during the 2016 season. He tallied three saves and tossed 25 and 2/3 innings out of the bullpen for Fullerton. He posted a career-best 1.05 ERA and struck out 23 batters. Opponents batted just .158 against him, allowing 15 hits.
Hockin made 49 career appearances including two starts in three seasons with Fullerton, going 0-2 with a 2.87 ERA in 62 and 2/3 career innings pitched. He tallied 52 career strikeouts to go with seven walks and opponents batted .248 against him overall.
With the 248th overall selection, Blaser was chosen by the New York Yankees in the eighth round. The Roseville, Calif. native played two seasons at Fullerton and had a banner year in 2016.
The 2016 Big West Conference Field Player of the Year, Blaser led the Titans with a .359 batting average, playing in 58 of the team's 59 games during the season. He led the team in hits (74), RBIs (38), slugging percentage (.485), on-base percentage (.439) and walks (30). Blaser also belted four home runs in 2016, the first round-trippers of his career. He recorded a multi-homer game on May 8 against UC Riverside, hitting two against the Highlanders to help the Titans complete a three-game sweep at Goodwin Field. Blaser also drove in four runs twice during the season and tallied his first career four-hit game this season.
Blaser played in 100 games in his two years at Cal State Fullerton, making 78 starts. He tallied 96 hits and batted .329 overall with 45 RBIs. Blaser posted a .411 on-base percentage and stole a pair of bases after joining the Titans last year out of Sierra College.
Later in the eighth round, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Prohoroff with the 255th overall pick. A transfer out of Fullerton College, Prohoroff was electric in his first season with the Titans. He appeared in 20 games out of the bullpen and posted a miniscule 0.68 ERA in 26 and 1/3 innings.
Prohoroff recorded 30 strikeouts and issued just five walks. He allowed just 19 hits as opponents hit just .194 against him. Earning Honorable Mention for the Big West All-Conference team, the right-hander went 1-1 and tied for second on the team with three saves. He fanned three batters on three occasions during the season, his career high. Prohoroff allowed an earned run just once in 20 appearances, and gave up more than one hit just three times on the year.
With the first pick of the ninth round (257th overall), Quinn was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies. The right-hander out of Fresno, Calif. was the fourth and last Fullerton player selected on day two of the MLB Draft.
Quinn, a transfer out of Fresno State, started off the season as the Friday-night starter in his first year at Cal State Fullerton. The right-hander went 4-3 on the season with a 2.16 ERA in 17 appearances including 12 starts. Quinn was third on the team with 69 strikeouts in 66 and 2/3 innings pitched during the 2016 season. He allowed just 40 hits and opponents hit just .179 against him, the second lowest batting average against a Titans pitcher with a minimum of 50 innings pitched.
On March 4, Quinn set a new career-high with 10 strikeouts against Texas Tech on the road. He posted more than half of his seven career victories during the 2016 seasons and helped the Titans clinch the Big West Conference title by recording his first career save at Long Beach State on May 28. He faced two batters and recorded one strikeout, stranding the game-tying run on base against the Dirtbags to give Fullerton its second straight conference title.
Going into the NCAA Tournament, Quinn was ranked ninth in the nation in hits allowed per nine innings (5.49) and was also ranked nationally in ERA (64th), WHIP (1.07, 76th) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.53, 84th).
In his three seasons with Fresno State and Fullerton combined, Quinn had 42 appearances and 23 starts, posting a 7-7 record with a 2.90 ERA. He tallied 128 career strikeouts in 145 and 2/3 innings pitched and allowed opponents to hit just .204 against him.
The final day of the 2016 MLB Draft will get underway Saturday morning beginning at 9 a.m. PDT with rounds 11-40 to be completed.