Three Spartan Baseball Players Selected In MLB Draft
6/7/2019 4:48:00 PM | Baseball
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Tyranski in 12th round, Diaz in 27th round and Bechina in 32nd round.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State baseball had three players selected on the third and final day of the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft on Wednesday.Â
Pitcher Mitchell Tyranski was selected in the 12th round (pick number 371 overall) by the Los Angeles Dodgers, pitcher Indigo Diaz was selected in the 27th round (pick number 871 overall) by the Atlanta Braves and infielder Marty Bechina was selected in the 32nd round (pick number 974 overall) by the Oakland Athletics.
With the three Spartans selected, MSU has had 34 draft selections under head coach Jake Boss Jr. The three selections marks the sixth time in the last 10 years that three or more Spartans have been drafted.
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Mitchell Tyranski was selected in the 12th round (pick number 371 overall) by the Los Angeles Dodgers
Tyranski, a native of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., led MSU and ranked sixth in the B1G regular-season statistics with 89 strikeouts overall in 78.0 IP total. The 89 strikeouts is tied for eighth on MSU's single-season strikeouts list, matching Ron Perranoski (1958).
In B1G only action, Tyranski was third in both strikeouts (61) and innings pitched (53.2), along with tied for fifth in conference wins (4). Tyranski was also fourth in the B1G with a 4.94 strikeout-to-walk ratio and eighth in the league with 10.27 strikeouts per nine innings.Â
In his final outing of the season, Tyranski threw a complete game with seven strikeouts in leading MSU to a 5-2 win over No. 23 Illinois on May 17. It was Tyranski's first complete game as a Spartan, topping his previous career-high of 8.0 IP vs. Northwestern on April 27. The seven strikeouts gave Tyranski five or more Ks in all 10 of his starts, as he won his last four outings in a row.
Tyranski fired 161 career strikeouts in 138.2 career innings pitched.
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Indigo Diaz was selected in the 27th round (pick number 871 overall) by the Atlanta Braves
Diaz, a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, led MSU and ranked tied for eighth in the Big Ten regular-season statistics with seven saves. The seven saves is also tied for ninth on the Spartans' single-season saves list. He recorded 51 strikeouts in 44.0 IP, after converting to MSU's closer part-way through the season after making four starts. Diaz finished with 25 appearances, ranking tied for 13th in the B1G during the season. He also ranked tied for 11th in B1G only action with two league saves.Â
In his last 20 appearances, junior reliever Indigo Diaz fired 31 strikeouts, including four that ended games and sealed victories for MSU, highlighted by the third of striking out the side in the ninth on April 9 at Notre Dame.Â
Diaz collected his seven saves in a span of 16 appearances, along with earning two wins and was part of two combined shutouts. Diaz did not allow a run of any kind in 16 of his 21 total relief appearances, including a stretch of 13 in a row.
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Marty Bechina was selected in the 32nd round (pick number 974 overall) by the Oakland Athletics
Bechina, a Chicago, Ill., native, led MSU with 17 doubles, ranking fourth in the B1G. With a .260 average, Bechina was fourth on the team in average, adding five home runs to rank second on the team, including a three-run blast over the scoreboard to boost MSU to the 5-2 win over No. 23 Illinois on May 17. Along with leading the team in runs scored with 25 and total bases with 83, Bechina also ended with a .423 slugging percentage and a .342 on-base percentage. Bechina was also second on the team and tied for seventh in the B1G with 13 stolen bases. He also tied for third in the B1G in sacrifice flies with five.Â
In the field, Bechina was sixth in the B1G in assists with 124, as well as 16th in the B1G with 25 fielding double plays, teaming with keystone corner mate senior infielder Royce Ando for three of the four Spartan season-high four twin-killings vs. Illinois on May 17, tying the most in a game in the league this season. In B1G only action, Bechina was tied for 10th with 54 assists.
Bechina was tabbed as MSU's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner following this season, the second Big Ten award of his career, as he was named to the All-Freshman team in 2016. He also collected two team awards, as Bechina was voted to receive the John Kobs Most Valuable Player Award, while also earning the Kirk Gibson Offensive Player of the Year Award.
Last year, the Spartans had one player drafted in Riley McCauley (Chicago Cubs, 14th round, pick number 428 overall). In 2017, Michigan State had four players drafted: Alex Troop (Washington, ninth round, 283 overall), Brandon Hughes (Chicago Cubs, 16th round, 495 overall), Nathan Witt (Los Angeles Dodgers, 17th round, 520 overall) and Joe Mockbee (Chicago White Sox, 29th round, 867 overall).
MSU had four juniors selected in the 2016 draft: Cam Vieaux (sixth round, Pittsburgh), Jordan Zimmerman (seventh round, Los Angeles Angles), Dakota Mekkes (10th round, Chicago Cubs) and Matt Byars (24th round, Minnesota). The year prior, a school-record eight players were taken in 2015: Cam Gibson (fifth round, Detroit), Ryan Krill (ninth round, New York Yankees), Anthony Misiewicz (18th round, Seattle), Cam Vieaux (19th round, Detroit), Jeff Kinley (28th round, Miami), Mick VanVossen (28th round, Washington), Blaise Salter (31st round, Detroit) and Mark Weist (37th round, San Francisco).
