A's Select Eight Players on Day 2 of First-Year Player Draft
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Oakland A's selected eight players on Day 2 of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft, the club announced today. The picks included right-handed pitcher Brett Graves (3rd round, Missouri), right-handed pitcher Jordan Schwartz (4th, Niagara), right-handed pitcher Heath Fillmyer (5th, Mercer County CC), shortstop Trace Loehr (6th, Rex Putnam HS/Milwaukie, Ore.), shortstop Branden Cogswell (7th, Virginia), right-handed pitcher Branden Kelliher (8th, Lake Stevens HS/Lake Stevens, Wash.), left-handed pitcher Mike Fagan (9th, Princeton) and right-handed pitcher Corey Miller (10th, Pepperdine).
Graves started 14 games for Missouri his junior year, finishing 3-6 with a 3.87 ERA in 93.0 innings pitched, leading the Tigers in innings, starts and strikeouts (64). A 6-1, 173-pound St. Charles, Mo., native, Graves led his high school team to a 32-3 record and a state championship his senior year while being named the 2011 Gatorade Player of the Year in Missouri.
Schwartz went 5-6 with a 3.12 ERA for Niagara this season, and finished with 109 strikeouts and just 35 walks. He led the Purple Eagles in innings, starts, ERA, strikeouts and opponents batting average (.217), and was named a Second Team All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference performer.
Fillmyer, who just finished his second year at Mercer County (NJ) Community College, was named the Region 19 Division II Player of the Year in 2014. After pitching fewer than 10 innings in 2013, Fillmyer went 9-0 with a 0.68 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched this season. He was previously drafted in the 28th round of the 2013 draft by Colorado.
Loehr-who is signed to play collegiately at Oregon State-was named a 2014 First Team All-American by the website Perfect Game. He won back-to-back Northwest Oregon Conference Player of the Year awards in 2013-14. This season, he hit .538 with 11 doubles, five triples and a home run while stealing 21 bases.
Cogswell was named First Team All-ACC this season after earning Second Team honors in 2013. In three seasons for the Cavaliers, he hit .306 with 21 doubles, nine triples and 54 RBI. He stole 21 bases in 32 attempts and posted a career .425 on-base percentage.
Kelliher, an Oregon recruit, finished 6-2 with a 1.32 ERA and led his high school team to a league title this season. He was named first team all-league as a Lake Stevens High School senior. Fagan went 4-2 with a 2.33 ERA in a team-leading 58 innings in 2014, including three complete games. He struck out 77 and walked 18, and opponents hit just .213 against him.
Miller is 9-4 with a 1.75 ERA in 15 games (all starts) for Pepperdine this season. He has 80 strikeouts and 29 walks in 113 innings, and will continue his season this weekend against TCU in an NCAA Super Regional. He was previously drafted in the 16th round of the 2013 draft by Milwaukee.
The A's selected college players with eight of their first 10 picks in this year's draft. The breakdown includes seven pitchers and three infielders.
The final day of the draft begins Saturday at 10:05 am with rounds 11 through 40.
Oakland Athletics Selections in 2014 First-Year Player Draft
RND PLAYER, POS. YR. SCHOOL / HOMETOWN
1 Matt Chapman, 3B Jr. CS-Fullerton / Trabuco Canyon, CA
2 Daniel Gossett, RHP Jr. Clemson / Lyman, SC
3 Brett Graves, RHP Jr. Missouri / St. Charles, MO
4 Jordan Schwartz, RHP Jr. Niagara / Hornell, NY
5 Heath Fillmyer, RHP So. Mercer County CC / Roebling, NJ
6 Trace Loehr, SS HS Rex Putnam HS / Milwaukie, OR
7 Branden Cogswell, SS Jr. Virginia / Ballston Lake, NY
8 Branden Kelliher, RHP HS Lake Stevens HS / Lake Stevens, WA
9 Mike Fagan, LHP Sr. Princeton / San Diego, CA
10 Corey Miller, RHP Sr. Pepperdine / Laguna Niguel, CA