Five Wolverines Selected on Day Two of MLB Draft
6/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 8, 2010
• Michigan's MLB Draft History
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan junior outfielder Ryan LaMarre (Jackson, Mich./Lumen Christi), junior pitcher Matt Miller (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville), senior pitcher Alan Oaks (White Lake, Mich./Divine Child), junior pitcher Tyler Burgoon (Defiance, Ohio/Defiance) and senior catcher Chris Berset (Vienna, Va./Heights School) were each selected on the second day of Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday (June 8). Additional Wolverines may be selected as the draft continues through round 30 today before concluding with rounds 31-50 on Wednesday (June 9).
LaMarre was the first Wolverine to come off the board, going to the Cincinnati Reds in the second round with the 62nd overall pick. Miller then went in the fifth round to the Milwaukee Brewers as the 159th overall pick, while Oaks was selected in the eighth round (257th overall) by the Florida Marlins and Burgoon was chosen in the 10th round (312th overall) by the Seattle Mariners. The Reds again went with a Wolverine, selecting Berset with the 607th pick in the 20th round. None of the five Wolverines selected were drafted out of high school.
With a trio of U-M pitchers selected, U-M head coach Rich Maloney has now had a hurler drafted in 15 consecutive seasons. Additionally, LaMarre is the highest Wolverine selected since David Parrish (1998-2000) was selected in the first round by the New York Yankees in 2000.
An All-Big Ten first team outfielder, LaMarre's draft stock skyrocketed when he returned to the U-M lineup after missing 18 games due to injury. Upon his return, he was named Big Ten Player of the Week as he launched into a repeat All-Big Ten team selection. Despite the limited time, LaMarre put together a .419 average -- sixth best by a Wolverine all-time -- with five home runs and 40 runs batted in. Starting 35 games in the outfield, LaMarre slugged a team-leading .649 and had a .453 on-base percentage.
A career .356 hitter, LaMarre has belted 20 home runs and driven in 125 runs in his 140 games. He is a two-time Bill Freehan award winner as the team's top hitter and was tabbed to the All-Big Ten Tournament team in 2010. LaMarre is the fifth Wolverine selected by the Reds all-time.
Miller made 17 appearances during his junior campaign, posting a 3-3 record with a 5.06 earned-run average. A force out of the bullpen, he shaved nearly two points off his ERA in seven relief appearances while striking out 17 batters. Throwing a career-high 64 innings, Miller punched out a personal-best 51 batters.
Miller has amassed a 4-6 career record with a 4.56 ERA and sits one appearance shy of 50 games. He also sits on 100 career strikeouts and has three saves during his first three years with the Maize and Blue. He is the ninth Wolverine selected by the Brewers since 1976.
Oaks made the transition to full-time start ing pitcher for his senior season and landed on the All-Big Ten third team as the Wolverines' Friday starter. He went 6-5 with a 3.82 ERA and 71 strikeouts -- including a team-high 25 looking -- with a .240 opponent batting average.
Oaks made 25 career appearances on the hill for the Wolverines with all but two coming in his final two years. He finished his career at 6-5 with a 4.19 ERA over 124.2 innings. Heading to the National League's Marlins, the former outfielder smacked 14 home runs and had 48 runs batted in while hitting .234 through his first three seasons in Ann Arbor. Oaks becomes the second Wolverine selected by the Marlins in the last five years.
Burgoon spent most of the 2010 season as the Wolverines' closer, earning All-Big Ten second team as a relief pitcher. He went 4-3 with 10 saves and a 2.23 ERA in his 20 appearances out of the bullpen, after making three starts early in the season. He earned a share of the program record with 10 saves in 2010 and led the Maize and Blue with 72 strikeouts and six wins.
In 63 career appearances, Burgoon has collected 19 saves -- second most in program history -- while going 12-6 with a 4.34 ERA. In addition to his 2010 Academic All-Big Ten distinction, Burgoon has been recognized with an U-M Athletic Academic Achievement award each year on campus. Burgoon is the first Wolverine to go to the Mariners since fellow closer J.J. Putz (1996-99) in 1999 and fourth all-time.
Berset dominated in all facets of the game during his senior season, earning a nod amongst the semifinalists for the Johnny Bench Award. The switch-hitting catcher batted .390 from the left side and .328 from the right batter's box. He finished in the top 10 in the conference in almost every major category en route to an All-Big Ten second team selection. He led the Wolverines with 81 hits while belting a career-high seven home runs, throwing out 42 percent of would-be base stealers and picking off six runners. A captain and 2010 team Most Valuable Player, Berset was named U-M's Sportsmanship Award honoree and earned a U-M Athletic Academic Achievement award.
Wrapping up his four-year career as a .317 hitter, Berset amassed 31 doubles and 107 runs batted in. He posted a .984 fielding percentage, committing just 18 errors in just under 1,000 chances behind the dish. He collected international experience with Great Britain at the 2009 Baseball World Cup. Berset is the second Wolverine taken by the Reds in the 2010 draft and sixth all-time.
During Monday's (June 7) first-day selections, former Wolverine catcher Mike Matheny (1989-91) represented the St. Louis Cardinals by announcing the 46th overall pick during the compensation round of the draft. Matheny, a four-time Gold Glove winner, is a special assistant for player development with the Cardinals.Contact: Ryan Sosin (734) 763-4423
