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Three Raiders taken in MLB draft

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FAIRBORN — Three members of the Wright State University baseball team have now been drafted by Major League Baseball teams in the MLB Draft.

Pitcher Ryan Weiss was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks organization in the fourth round of Tuesday’s June 5 draft. Weiss, a redshirt sophomore from South Elgin, Ill., was the 129th selection overall.

On June 6, fellow Wright State Raiders Caleb Sampen and Gabe Snyder were drafted.

Sampen, also a redshirt sophomore pitcher, from Brownsburg, Ind., was picked up in the 20th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers as the 614th overall pick. Snyder, a redshirt senior first basemen out of Millersburg, was selected as the 634th overall pick in Wednesday’s 21st round by the Minnesota Twins.

The three Raiders helped lead the Raiders to the 2018 Horizon League Championship and the NCAA Tournament.

Weiss posted a 9-2 record with one save and 92 strikeouts over 98 innings. He posted a two-year career record of 17-3 with a 2.80 ERA and 172 strikeouts in 186.2 innings. His career-best 10 strikeouts came against the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) on May 4 and against Northern Kentucky last season on April 29. He was named to the All-Horizon League First Team in 2017 and 2018. In 2017, he was selected as the Freshman of the Year as well as a Freshman All American.

Sampen had a 5-0 won-loss record in 11 appearances with a 3.26 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 47.0 innings. As a freshman in 2016, Sampen went 9-4 in 15 appearances with a 2.76 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 94.2 innings. In 2016, he was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All American and the Horizon League Freshman of the Year while defeating Ohio State in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

Snyder had a .359 batting average this season with 15 home runs, 20 doubles, 17 steals and 73 RBI while setting new WSU career records with 44 round trippers and 218 RBI. Winner of the Horizon League Triple Crown, Snyder was named the conference Player of the Year and Batter of the Week twice. In 2015, he was selected as the League’s Freshman of the Year.

With the selections of Weiss, Sampen and Snyder, 33 Wright State baseball players have been drafted by Major League teams. A record five Raiders were selected in the 2016 draft. The first Raider drafted was WSU Hall of Famer Bob Grote by the New York Mets in the 12th round in 1976.

The Horizon League Champion Wright State Raiders (39-16) finished the 2018 season at the NCAA Stanford Regional tournament, June 1-2, falling to the host and No. 3-ranked Cardinal 4-3 in 13 innings, and Baylor 11-5.

The annual Major League Baseball Draft typically lasts 40 rounds.

Weiss
http://www.xeniagazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/06/web1_RyanWeiss_PS.jpgWeiss

Sampen
http://www.xeniagazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/06/web1_CalebSampen_PS.jpgSampen

Snyder
http://www.xeniagazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/06/web1_GabeSnyder_PS.jpgSnyder

Story and photos courtesy of Wright State University Athletics, wsuraiders.com.