By snoadmin
Long Beach State junior starting pitcher Andrew Gagnon highlighted a group of four Dirtbag players selected during the second day of the Major League Baseball draft on Tuesday.
Gagnon was chosen in the third round by the Milwaukee Brewers with the 100th overall pick.
Along with Gagnon, pitcher Branden Pinder, catcher Mike Marjama and shortstop Kirk Singer were among the LBSU players to be picked in the second through 30th rounds of the draft that were announced.
Gagnon became the eighth Dirtbag to be picked in the first three rounds over the last four years, and the fifth pitcher joining Bryan Shaw, Andrew Liebel, Jake Thompson, and major leaguer Vance Worley.
A native of Brentwood, Calif., Gagnon (4-10) was the first player from the Big West Conference to be taken in the 2011 draft. As a second-team All-Big West selection, Gagnon ranked in the top 10 in the conference in earned run average (2.81), opposing batting average (.225), and strikeouts (84).
Meanwhile, Pinder (3-5), a second member of the Dirtbags’ rotation for the last two years, was selected in the 16th round by the New York Yankees with pick No. 509.
Pinder, who recorded a 5.29 ERA this past year, threw 63 innings for the Dirtbags as he made 11 starts and struck out 58 while walking just 15 batters. Pinder, who became a reliever toward the end of the season, also had four saves for the Dirtbags.
Marjama was the third player picked from the Dirtbags to be taken in the draft as he was chosen by the Chicago White Sox in the 23rd round with pick No. 711.
Marjama led the Dirtbags with 63 hits on the season while ranking second on the team with a .290 batting average. Listed as a catcher, the junior also played at third base, but started 29 games behind the plate where he threw out 13 runners on the season.
Singer, a two-year starter for the Dirtbags at shortstop, was selected in the 29th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates with pick No. 872. Singer started 50 games for the Dirtbags this past season, and ranked second on the team in walks drawn.
The 2011 MLB draft will conclude today with the 31st through 50th rounds to be announced.
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