Three More Tigers Selected in MLB Draft
6/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 8, 2011
COLUMBIA, Mo. - One day removed from seeing junior starter Matt Stites drafted by the San Diego Padres, three more Tigers were selected in the 2011 Major League Baseball First Year Player's Draft on Wednesday (June 8). Highlighting the picks was senior closer Phil McCormick who was selected in the 31st round by the San Francisco Giants. Also selected on Wednesday were Conner Mach (46th round, New York Yankees) and Zack Hardoin (47th round, Houston Astros). In all, four Tigers were taken in the 2011 MLB Draft.
McCormick put together another great season in 2011 as the Tigers' top arm out of the bullpen. He led the team with a 3.50 ERA and boasted an 8-2 record with eight saves. The eight wins and eight saves were both team-bests in 2011. He struck out 57 batters in 64.1 innings pitched and limited batters to a .231 average. He also matched his school record with 36 appearances this season and his 64.1 innings pitched were third on the team, trailing only two of the Tigers' starters.
McCormick proved to be one of the most reliable arms in Mizzou history over the past three seasons. He appeared in 106 games over his four-year career - just two off of the school record - and 102 of those appearances came over the last three seasons, making it the most productive three-year span by any Tiger pitcher in program history. He set the school record in appearances in a single season in both his junior and senior seasons with 36 in both years.
Mach was part of a lineup shake that really ignited the Tigers in the second half of the season and finished his year swinging as good a bat as anyone in the Big 12. Mach finished the season hitting .285 with 32 RBI and 31 runs scored. He boasted an OBP of .378 and slugged .399 on the year with 17 extra-base hits with four home runs. He was one of the Tigers' hottest bats following a lineup change before the Baylor series, hitting .321 with all four of his home runs in the span.
Hardoin was a midweek starter for the Tigers in 2011 but was part of the weekend rotation for the first half of the season. He started nine games and appeared in 12 overall compiling a 2-4 record with a 6.07 ERA. He struck out 28 batters in 29.2 innings pitched. He had a great week back in March, earning a pair of wins over Gonzaga and Le Moyne. Against Gonzaga he went 6.2 innings and allowed just one earned run and against Le Moyne later that week he 5.0 innings and struck out eight en-route to the win over Le Moyne.
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