Seton Hall
Five Pirates receive chance at next level
Date: June 7, 2018By Dalton Allison
It was a successful 2018 MLB Draft for the Seton Hall Pirates, as they saw the most players drafted from the program since 1997. A resounding five Pirates were drafted on June 6th, tying a school record.
The action began for the Pirates when red shirt sophomore Billy Layne Jr. was taken by the Texas Rangers in the 11th round, 329th overall. Layne had a breakout season for the Pirates, pitching to a 5-1 record with a 3.09 ERA. Likely a big selling point for the Rangers, he displayed excellent control of his arsenal of pitches, allowing batters to draw only 12 walks against him. His best outing came against Creighton on May 6th, when he tossed 8.1 scoreless innings, striking out 11 and allowing only two hits, earning him Big East Pitcher of the Week honors.
Following Layne was redshirt junior Andrew Politi, who was taken by the Boston Red Sox in the 15th round, 460th overall. Politi made his mark on scouts with his impressive performance in the Big East Tournament. Over his nine innings of relief between two games, Politi allowed one earned run while striking out 15. He pitched 5.2 innings of relief in a losing effort to Butler during the tournament, but struck out 9 Bulldogs in a game that was hard pressed for offense.
In the 18th round, with the 553rd overall pick, the Cleveland Indians selected Shane McCarthy. McCarthy is no stranger to the draft, as he was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 18th round of last year's draft. Electing to play his senior year, the right hander improved his play when conference play rolled around. Landing on the 2018 All-Big East second team, his most clutch performance came on May 11th against St. John's, when McCarthy pitched his team into a tie with the Red Storm for first place in the Big East Conference.
The only position player drafted from the Pirates, Ryan Ramiz went to the Seattle Mariners as the 688th overall pick in the 23rd round. Ramiz had a stellar senior season for The Hall, and was rewarded with a unanimous selection to the All-Big East First Team. Ramiz was a constant force at the plate for the Pirates, slugging a .316 average, while driving in a team-leading 32 runs. Filling in the void that he will leave will be a tall task for coach Rob Sheppard, as Ramiz has been a mainstay in the lineup in recent seasons.
Drafted in the 30th round by the San Diego Padres with the 891st pick was a Pirate that was unable to stretch his legs on the field with the Pirates this season. Cullen Dana was drafted based on his super freshman and sophomore seasons. His best collegiate season was in 2016, when his 7-2 record, 2.75 ERA, and 66 strikeouts in 72 innings landed him a spot on the All-American Freshman team.
It was a thrilling season for the Pirates, and having 5 of their players being drafted to have the opportunity to play at the next level adds another level of success to the season.
Dalton Allison can be reached at dalton.allison@student.shu.edu
