NEW YORK--- Three Cal State Fullerton Titans were selected on the second of the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Friday.
Junior Right-handed pitcher Connor Seabold was the first Titan taken, as he was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies with the 83rd overall pick in the third round. Junior outfielder Scott Hurst was the next Titan taken, as he was drafted as the 94th overall pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in the third round. Hurst became the Cardinals' first pick in this year's draft.
Junior left-handed pitcher John Gavin rounded things out on day two, as he was taken by his hometown team, the San Francisco Giants, with 236th overall pick in the eighth round. The San Jose, California native has grown up a Giants fan his entire life.
For Seabold and Gavin, it marks the second time they've been drafted. Seabold was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 19th round in 2014, while Gavin was drafted in the 39th round by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2014.
It's now the 43rd straight season the Titans have had at least one player selected in the MLB Draft.
Seabold is currently enjoying his best season as a Titan. His 122.2 innings pitched and his 120 strikeouts lead the team. In addition, he's tossed three complete games this season, which ranks 22nd nationally and is third best in the conference. He claimed Big West Pitcher of the Week honors twice this season, on Feb. 20 and March 10, while he's recorded quality starts in 11 of his last 13 outings. His complete-game shutout on April 7 vs. UC Davis, marked Fullerton's first complete-game shutout Thomas Eshelman threw one on May 15, 2015.
Hurst is also having a breakout year.. He led the Big West in runs scored (54), runs per game (0.92), total bases (141), ranks second in home runs (12), ranks third in slugging percentage (.585), and ranks third in the conference in triples with five, while he's just one triples away from placing eighth on the Fullerton all-time single season triples list. Hurst leads the Titans in batting average (.332), slugging percentage (.585), on-base percentage (.424), runs scored (54), hits (80), runs batted in (39), triples (5), home runs (12), total bases (141), games played (61), games started (61) and total plate appearances (285).
Not to mention, he tied the school record with four home runs in a game at CSUN on May 20th.
Gavin currently owns an 8-2 record with a 2.67 ERA in 101 innings pitched this season. Gavin was named Big West Pitcher of the Week and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's National Pitcher of the Week after pitching what was then a career-high 8.0 innings against New Mexico on March 19th. In his eight innings he allowed just two hits, zero earned runs, zero walks and struck out a career-high 14 batters. The 14 strikeouts were the most any Titan had accumulated since Thomas Eshelman also collected 14 on May 30, 2015 vs. Arizona State. Gavin may have topped that performance last Saturday at Long Beach State, tossing his first complete-game shutout.
The MLB Draft will conclude on Wednesday, finishing up with rounds 11 through 40 beginning at 9 am PT. MLB.com will have a live stream.
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