2019 MLB Draft / Purdue MLB Draft History
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue baseball's Patrick J. Smith will have an opportunity to continue his career in pro ball after the senior left-hander was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 33rd round of the Major League Baseball Draft on Wednesday.
Smith was the second pick of the 33rd round. He became the Boilermakers' first lefty to be drafted since Jordan Minch (Chicago Cubs) in 2014. It had been over 20 years since Kansas City drafted a Purdue player, going back to second baseman Rod Metzler in 1997.
Smith recorded 70 strikeouts in 60 innings pitched as a senior, helping the Boilermakers establish single-season program records for strikeouts (477) and Ks per nine innings (9.10). His 10.50 strikeouts per nine average eclipsed the team benchmark for pitchers with at least 60 innings. Teammate Trent Johnson (73 Ks in 60 1/3 IP, 10.89 K/9) finished the year as the new record holder.
Purdue also had two National Letter of Intent signees selected in the MLB Draft this year. Outfielder Joshua Mears (Federal Way, Washington/Federal Way HS) was selected 48th overall by the San Diego Padres. Left-handed pitcher Adam Macko (Stony Plain, Alberta/Vauxhall Academy of Baseball) was drafted in the seventh round by the Seattle Mariners. They'll have the option of signing professional contracts or enrolling at Purdue in the fall.
Smith was the 16th Purdue letterwinner to be drafted this decade. Five of those have been over the last four years. However, Smith was first Purdue player selected in an odd-numbered year since 2009.
The Boilermakers won four straight games started by Smith from March 9 to 29, a stretch punctuated by a shutout of Penn State in the Big Ten home opener at Alexander Field. Purdue won a 1-0 pitcher's duel that day as Smith outdueled PSU ace Dante Biasi, who was drafted in the sixth round by the Royals this week. During his impressive four-week stretch in March, Smith racked up 31 strikeouts over 22 innings of six-run ball.
Smith's curveball was a weapon for much of the season, but he struggled with his command for an extended stretch in April. That led to a brief return to the bullpen. But the two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree returned to form and the rotation for the stretch run, working 8 2/3 innings of four-hit ball – with 13 strikeouts vs. one walk – over two starts the final week of April.
While limiting opposing batters to a .266 average and just 10 extra-base hits over 60 innings, Smith did not surrender a home run until his final start of the season. He entered the final weekend of the regular season as the only Big Ten pitcher with enough innings to qualify for the league's ERA title to have not conceded a long ball. Left-handed hitters batted .209 against him.
Meanwhile, Mears and Macko join current Boilermaker Zac Fascia as Purdue's most recent NLI signees to be drafted. Fascia was selected in the 37th round by the New York Mets last year after his sophomore season at Indian Hills College in Iowa. Other NLI signees to be drafted over the last 10 years includes…
• Hayden Wynja, 2017
• Nick Dalesandro, 2015
• Kyle Ostrowski, 2015
• Kevin Kiermaier, 2010
• Cameron Perkins, 2009
• Brad Schreiber, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue baseball's Patrick J. Smith will have an opportunity to continue his career in pro ball after the senior left-hander was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 33rd round of the Major League Baseball Draft on Wednesday.
Smith was the second pick of the 33rd round. He became the Boilermakers' first lefty to be drafted since Jordan Minch (Chicago Cubs) in 2014. It had been over 20 years since Kansas City drafted a Purdue player, going back to second baseman Rod Metzler in 1997.
Smith recorded 70 strikeouts in 60 innings pitched as a senior, helping the Boilermakers establish single-season program records for strikeouts (477) and Ks per nine innings (9.10). His 10.50 strikeouts per nine average eclipsed the team benchmark for pitchers with at least 60 innings. Teammate Trent Johnson (73 Ks in 60 1/3 IP, 10.89 K/9) finished the year as the new record holder.
Purdue also had two National Letter of Intent signees selected in the MLB Draft this year. Outfielder Joshua Mears (Federal Way, Washington/Federal Way HS) was selected 48th overall by the San Diego Padres. Left-handed pitcher Adam Macko (Stony Plain, Alberta/Vauxhall Academy of Baseball) was drafted in the seventh round by the Seattle Mariners. They'll have the option of signing professional contracts or enrolling at Purdue in the fall.
Smith was the 16th Purdue letterwinner to be drafted this decade. Five of those have been over the last four years. However, Smith was first Purdue player selected in an odd-numbered year since 2009.
A native of Schaumburg, Illinois, and transfer from Heartland College (Bloomington, Illinois), Smith pitched in only 10 games in 2018, his first season as a Boilermaker. But he quickly emerged as one of the team's top performers this year. He joined the weekend rotation for the second weekend of the season, putting together a quality start in the series finale at Texas in his first start at Purdue. By the time Big Ten play opened the weekend of March 22 to 24, Smith was starting on Fridays.Thank you so much to the @PurdueBaseball family! The support is unlike any other and I am so grateful for the platform that Purdue has provided me these past 2 years! I would like to also thank the @Royals organization for giving me this opportunity! #boilermakerforlife #royals
— Patrick Smith (@Pj_Smith31) June 5, 2019
The Boilermakers won four straight games started by Smith from March 9 to 29, a stretch punctuated by a shutout of Penn State in the Big Ten home opener at Alexander Field. Purdue won a 1-0 pitcher's duel that day as Smith outdueled PSU ace Dante Biasi, who was drafted in the sixth round by the Royals this week. During his impressive four-week stretch in March, Smith racked up 31 strikeouts over 22 innings of six-run ball.
Smith's curveball was a weapon for much of the season, but he struggled with his command for an extended stretch in April. That led to a brief return to the bullpen. But the two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree returned to form and the rotation for the stretch run, working 8 2/3 innings of four-hit ball – with 13 strikeouts vs. one walk – over two starts the final week of April.
While limiting opposing batters to a .266 average and just 10 extra-base hits over 60 innings, Smith did not surrender a home run until his final start of the season. He entered the final weekend of the regular season as the only Big Ten pitcher with enough innings to qualify for the league's ERA title to have not conceded a long ball. Left-handed hitters batted .209 against him.
Meanwhile, Mears and Macko join current Boilermaker Zac Fascia as Purdue's most recent NLI signees to be drafted. Fascia was selected in the 37th round by the New York Mets last year after his sophomore season at Indian Hills College in Iowa. Other NLI signees to be drafted over the last 10 years includes…
• Hayden Wynja, 2017
• Nick Dalesandro, 2015
• Kyle Ostrowski, 2015
• Kevin Kiermaier, 2010
• Cameron Perkins, 2009
• Brad Schreiber, 2009