Concordia Hurler Whitmore Selected by Seattle in MLB Draft
Irvine, CA — For the second year in a row, the Seattle Mariners have selected Bennett Whitmore, but this time, the Concordia senior left-hander is expected to sign with the team, which picked him in the 24th Round of the 2010 MLB Draft.
Whitmore tossed a team-high 101.1 innings in his only year at Concordia, in which he posted an 8-5 record and a 3.55 ERA in 15 starts.
It was the third time overall that Whitmore has been drafted, but the highest he has been selected so far, eclipsing a 32nd Round choice following his 2009 season at University of Oregon.
"Ben had an outstanding year for us," head coach Mike Grahovac said. "He came here with a lot of pressure on him and he performed above and beyond expectations. We are all very proud of Ben."
The 732nd player selected overall in this year's draft, Whitmore becomes the fifth Eagle in program history to go in the First-Year Player Draft.
Last year, Cameron Bayne was chosen by the Chicago White Sox in the 13th Round, and he is currently playing Class-A ball for the Kannapolis Intimidators of the South Atlantic League, where he has gone 4-6 in 10 starts, posting a 3.84 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 58.2 innings.
Whitmore struck out 98 batters in his 101.1 innings as an Eagle, finishing just 13 strikeouts away from equaling a school record. He became Concordia's first-ever NAIA Baseball Pitcher of the Week March 16, after carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning in an eventual win at Point Loma Nazarene.
The 2010 Eagles finished 27-24 and returned to the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament after missing the tourney in 2009.