COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Juniors Logan Taylor and Matt Kent were selected on the last day of the MLB Draft to give Texas A&M five players chosen in 2015.
Logan Taylor was picked by the Seattle Mariners in the 12th round with the 365th overall selection. Matt Kent was chosen in by the Boston Red Sox in the 13th round with the 381st overall pick.
Junior pitchers AJ Minter and Grayson Long and senior shortstop Blake Allemand were selected on the first two days of the draft.
Taylor was named All-SEC Second Team and garnered All-America Third Team distinction from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). He led the Aggies with 10 home runs and 52 RBI. He batted .333 with 34 runs, 13 doubles and one triple.
For his career, Taylor is hitting .293 with 63 runs, 32 doubles, three triples, 10 home runs and 77 RBI in 128 games.
Kent posted a 9-1 record with two saves and a 2.76 ERA as a junior. He appeared in 19 games, including 14 starts, striking out 84 with just 12 walks. His strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.00) ranks 12th in the nation in 2015.
The southpaw garnered national attention for his prolific postseason run. In four starts at the SEC Tournament and NCAA Championship, Kent went 3-0 with a 0.59 ERA, yielding just two runs on 21 hits and six walks while striking out 26 in 30.2 innings of work. In the SEC Tournament he outdueled the SEC Pitcher of the Year Carson Fulmer as he pitched A&M’s only complete-game of the season in a 6-1 win over Vanderbilt. At the NCAA College Station Regional, Kent earned two wins in a four-day span, allowing just one run in 14.0 innings against Texas Southern and California.
For his career, Kent is 14-5 with two saves and a 3.14 ERA. He ranks seventh among active pitchers in fewest walks per nine innings (1.10).
Four Aggie signees were also selected, including pitchers Ashe Russell and Beau Burrows in the first round. Russell was chosen 21st overall by the Kansas City Royals and the Detroit Tigers picked Burrows with the next pick. The Brewers picked pitcher Nash Walters in the third round with the 90th overall choice. The Miami Marlins tabbed pitcher Chris Paddack as the 236th player in the draft, selecting him in the eighth round.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics