Oklahoma State University Athletics
Five Cowboys Selected On Final Day Of MLB Draft
June 07, 2012 | Cowboy Baseball
June 7, 2012
SECAUCUS, N.J. – Oklahoma State had five players selected on the final day of the 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft Wednesday.
The Cowboys' total number of MLB draftees this week was six, which tied for the third most in the Big 12 Conference and marked the seventh-straight year OSU has had at least six players drafted. Pitcher Andrew Heaney was the ninth-overall pick by Miami on Monday, marking OSU's third-highest draft pick ever.
Four of the OSU players to hear their names called Wednesday were seniors – Mark Ginther, Hunter Bailey, Blake Barnes and Kyle Ottoson. Junior Chase Stevens was also selected.
Ginther was the first Cowboy chosen Wednesday, as the third baseman was the 24th-round pick of Arizona. It marked the third time Ginther has been an MLB Draft pick, as he was a 48th-round choice of Philadelphia in 2008 and a 14th-round selection of the Chicago White Sox in 2011.
A native of Tulsa, Okla., Ginther played in 209 career games at OSU, including 205 starts, and hit .296 with 32 home runs and 140 RBIs. A two-time honorable mention All-Big 12 performer, he finished with a .499 slugging percentage and is tied for eighth all-time at OSU with 50 doubles.
Bailey, who started 116 games over the last two seasons, was the next Cowboy off the board as he went in the 28th round to Washington. A career .270 hitter who also finished with 44 RBIs and nine stolen bases, the slick-fielding shortstop was an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection as a senior.
Miami selected another two-year player for the Cowboys in the 29th round as Barnes joined teammate Andrew Heaney as Marlins' draft picks.
A right-hander, Barnes made 49 appearances on the mound in his OSU career, 45 of those in relief, and finished 8-6 with three saves and a 3.28 ERA. In 118.0 innings of work, he struck out 97 and opponents hit just .247 against him.
Barnes, who was also drafted in the 48th round in 2010 by Tampa Bay, was also an honorable mention All-Big 12 choice in 2012 after going 5-5 with a team-leading three saves.
In his first season with the Cowboys, Chase Stevens was 7-4 with a save and a 3.22 ERA, numbers that earned him honorable mention All-Big 12 status and helped him become a 30th-round pick of Arizona.
A right-hander, Stevens made 22 appearances, 18 of those in relief, and ranks among the NCAA leaders in strikeouts per nine innings at 11.28 after racking up 84 punchouts in 67.0 innings.
Ottoson was drafted for the fifth time Wednesday and was the Cowboys' final selection as the southpaw went in the 34th round to San Diego. The Greeley, Colo. native had previously been drafted in the 24th round (2011), the 48th round (2010), the 36th round (2009) and the 39th round (2008).
A transfer from Arizona State, Ottoson's lone season in Stillwater produced a 4-7 record and 3.86 ERA in 12 appearances. He appeared in 12 games, starting 11, and had 41 strikeouts in 63.0 innings.
2012 OSU Major League Baseball Draftees
1st round – Andrew Heaney, LHP, Miami Marlins (9th overall)
24th round – Mark Ginther, 3B, Arizona Diamondbacks (753rd overall)
28th round – Hunter Bailey, SS, Washington Nationals (864th overall)
29th round – Blake Barnes, RHP, Miami Marlins (887th overall)
30th round – Chase Stevens, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks (933rd overall)
34th round – Kyle Ottoson, LHP, San Diego Padres (1,035th overall)
