Notre Dame’s baseball team had three pitchers selected in the first ten rounds of the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft. According to the The Observer it’s just the third time in school history that three Irish players were taken in the first ten rounds of the draft in the same year.
Reliever Peter Solomon was the first Irish player taken in the draft, going in the fourth round to the Houston Astros with the No. 121 overall pick. Solomon finished the 2017 season with a 3-4 record and a 3.83 ERA, making 21 appearances and four starters.
Solomon struck out 61 batters in 54.0 innings pitched while walking 28 batters. The native of Ellicott City, Md. saved three games for the Irish this season. For his career Solomon had a 3.85 ERA in 131.0 innings pitched with 151 strikeouts.
According to Christopher Crawford of Hero Sports, Solomon sits between 91-93 miles per hour with his fastball but has topped out at 96 MPH.
Left-handed closer Sean Guenther was chosen in the 7th round by the Miami Marlins with the No. 209 pick. Solomon made 24 appearances, posting a 2.64 ERA in 58.0 innings of work. He struck out 69 batters while walking 19.
Guenther made 11 starts in 2016, posting a 4.62 ERA in 78.0 innings and striking out just 47 batters. The Atlanta native was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American in 2015 after recording a 2.27 ERA in 46.1 innings of relief work. Opponents hit just .238 against Guenther that season.
Guenther saved seven games for the Irish in 2017 and has 13 career saves.
Right-handed starter Brad Bass was chosen in the 7th round by the Detroit Tigers with the No. 215 overall pick. The 6-6, 250-pounder started 14 games for the Irish in 2017, posting a 3-7 record and a 3.74 ERA. He struck out 80 batters in 84.1 innings pitched.
Bass was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American after the 2015 season in which he went 3-1 with a 1.91 ERA in 33.0 innings of work, striking out 28 batters. Opponents hit just .198 against Bass that season.
Bass was quoted in a Detroit Free Press article as saying he throws anywhere between 90-95 MPH.
Notre Dame has now had 112 players drafted into the Major Leagues and 18 under head coach Mik Aoki.
All three pitchers are juniors.
The top incoming recruit for Notre Dame, Mount Dora (Fla.) The First Academy shortstop Cash Case was chosen in the 4th round by the Cincinnati Reds with the No. 107 pick.
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