UALR likely lost one of its most experienced pitchers and one of its most highly anticipated signees Wednesday during the final day of the major-league baseball amateur draft.
Trojans pitcher Sam Thoele was selected in the 14th round by the Colorado Rockies with the 407th overall pick. The right-hander from Montrose, Ill., had a 5.57 ERA in 14 appearances, including 11 starts, this season with 59 strikeouts in 63 innings pitched.
Arkansans taken in major league amateur draft
PLAYER SCHOOL POS ROUND PICK TEAM
Andrew Benintendi Arkansas OF 1 7 Red Sox
Gray Fenter West Memphis HS RHP 7 223 Orioles
Andre Davis UA-Pine Bluff LHP 8 249 Royals
Trey Killian Arkansas RHP 9 257 Rockies
Sam Thoele UALR RHP 14 407 Rockies
Ethan Clark Greenwood HS RHP 15 448 Rays
Daniel Sprinkle White Hall HS RHP 15 454 Indians
David Owen Arkansas State RHP 19 576 Giants
John Boushelle Fayetteville HS RHP 20 612 Dodgers
Kevin Walsh UA-Pine Bluff RHP 21 624 Phillies
Stuart Levy Arkansas State C 27 823 Orioles
Bobby Wernes Arkansas 3B 30 889 Astros
Chandler Hawkins Arkansas State LHP 33 1,001 Cardinals
Tyler Spoon Arkansas OF 35 1,041 Red Sox
Zach George Arkansas State 1B 35 1,057 Pirates
Andy Pagnozzi Fayetteville HS RHP 36 1,067 Rockies
UALR Coach Chris Curry said scouts were impressed by Thoele's fastball, which was clocked consistently in the 92-95 mph range and topped out twice at 98.
Thoele, 23, has a year of eligibility remaining but Curry expects him to sign.
"I think he wants to get the ball rolling," said Curry, adding that Thoele projects as a late-inning reliever.
Curry said when he was hired last summer he was first struck by Thoele's fastball and figured he would draw interest from scouts. Thoele adjusted his delivery a bit and fine-tuned a slider, but Curry said his fastball is what drew the most attention.
"You can't walk away from a big arm like that," Curry said. "The biggest thing for him is developing his fastball command, which he has done, and developing a sharper, sweeping breaking ball."
Curry also expects Paul Salazar, a right-handed pitcher from Pearland, Texas, to sign after being selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 11th round with the 341st overall pick.
Salazar signed with UALR in November after being ranked as the 19th-best prospect in Texas and 118th in the country by Perfectgame.org.
"He projects well in professional baseball," Curry said. "We want him to be a Trojan, but I feel like we'll lose him."
Seven other players with Arkansas ties were selected Wednesday.
Arkansas third baseman Bobby Wernes was taken in the 30th round by the Houston Astros, and outfielder Tyler Spoon was taken in the 35th round by the Boston Red Sox.
Arkansas State had four players selected: Right-handed pitcher David Owen, who went in the 19th round to the San Francisco Giants; catcher Stuart Levy, a Little Rock Catholic graduate who was selected in the 27th round by the Baltimore Orioles; left-handed pitcher Chandler Hawkins, who went in the 33rd round to the Cardinals; and first baseman Zach George, who was taken in the 35th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff right-handed pitcher Kevin Walsh was taken in the 21st round by the Philadelphia Phillies.
Ethan Clark, who is from Greenwood and played at Crowder College in Neosho, Mo., was taken in the 15th round by the Tampa Bay Rays; Daniel Sprinkle, a right-handed pitcher from White Hall, was taken by the Cleveland Indians in the 15th round; and John Boushelle, a right-handed pitcher from Fayetteville, was selected in the 20th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Sports on 06/11/2015