Five Cougars selected on third day of the MLB draft

In the third day of the Major League Baseball Amateur draft, which comprises of rounds 10-40, three Cougars and two future Cougars heard their names called. Current players Damon Jones, Shane Matheny and Colby Nealy were selected as well as signees Isaiah Smith and Jack Smith.

Jones was the highest player drafted, going in the 18^th round to the Philadelphia Phillies. The 6-foot-5, 230 pound left handed pitcher is a redshirt junior so he may be more likely to sign than some of the other draftees. Jones has good athletic bloodlines and excellent size for a lefty. He went 3-3 with a 4.72 ERA this season for WSU. He started his career at the College of Southern Idaho before heading to WSU.

All Pac-12 third baseman Shane Matheny was selected in the 23^rd round by the San Francisco Giants. Matheny led the Cougars in RBI last year and hit .309. Matheny is a true junior out of Bremerton.

Colby Nealy was the last of the current roster to be drafted. Nealy is a also a true junior who has been selected in the 35^th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has a projectable frame at 6 foot 5, 190 pounds.

We talked about centerfield recruit Isaiah Smith and his pro potential in this space last week. He ended up being selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 21^stround.

Another recruit was selected by the hometown team as Mercer Island shortstop Jack Smith was popped by the Mariners in the 39th round. Smith was a Perfect Game honorable mention All-American.

Teams can only spend up to $125,000 in bonuses per player after the 10^th round unless they want to dip in to their money allotted for the picks drafted in the first 10 rounds. With that being said there is a good chance that some of these draftees will end up back in Pullman next year. It all depends on how badly they want to get their pro career going and if they feel will lose money by coming back. Here is Baseball America’s JJ Cooper with some perspective on the later rounds.

Congrats to all that were selected!

Baseball

Three WSU baseball players, two Coug signees selected in Day 3 of MLB draft | The Seattle Times
Damon Jones, WSU's LHP, was drafted in the 18th round of the Major League Baseball draft

Battle Ground’s Isaiah Smith drafted by K.C. Royals | The Columbian
Wednesday, Smith’s professional baseball dreams came true. The senior was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 21st round with the 630th overall pick.