Black to White Sox, Haveman to Mariners, Jansen to Giants

The Major League Baseball Draft has been going on since yesterday. normally, this means very little for Purdue. We have a pretty weak baseball history. Last year was a good year with six players drafted, but things have dropped off a bit this year. While Josh Lindblom was a second round pick last season, no one from Purdue was picked on the first day.

Day 2 was different, as slugger Dan Black was picked in the 14th round by the Chicago White Sox and leadoff hitter Brandon Haveman went in the 23rd round to the Seattle Mariners. As a junior, Black has the option of returning next year if he wants to improve his position. Haveman, as a senior, is gone. In losing Haveman, Purdue lost the Big Ten batting champion, as .422 for the season and .464 in conference games. As Purdue's official site says, no one in the 120+ year history of Purdue baseball had a higher career average than Haveman.

Don't be surprised if you see Haveman close to home later this summer. The Mariners' single-A affiliate is the Clinton LumberKings of the MIdwest League. That league has local teams in Ft. Wayne and South Bend.

UPDATE: Left handed starting pitcher Matt Jansen was picked in today's 43rd round by the San Francisco Giants. As a junior, he does have the option of returning next year. Since he was a 43rd round selection I would expect him to return.