BOONE, N.C. - Pitcher
Josh Dowdy became the fourth Appalachian State University player selected in the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft when the Baltimore Orioles tabbed him with their 38th-round pick (1,136th overall) on Thursday. He joins teammates
Zach Quate,
Rand Smith and
Isaac Harrow, who were drafted on Wednesday by the Tampa Bay Rays, Florida Marlins and New York Yankees, respectively, to give Appalachian a school-record four MLB draftees this year.
In 20 appearances in 2009, Dowdy posted a 6-3 record and 5.07 earned run average over 76.1 innings, proving to be one of the staff’s most reliable arms with seven mid-week relief appearances to go along with his normal spot in the weekend rotation. The right-hander held opposing hitters to a .288 average and struck out 68 batters while allowing just 19 walks.
Dowdy overcame a shaky start in ‘09 to go 14-straight appearances (including eight-consecutive starts) without a loss, a stretch that covered two months (March 15-May 15) and continued a trend of late-season success that spanned his two years at ASU. In 20 post-April 1 appearances during his two seasons with the Mountaineers, the East Carolina transfer was 9-2 with a 4.45 ERA.
In all, Dowdy struck out 123 and walked just 36 as a Mountaineer, good for a 3.4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Amazingly, eight players that either were seniors or would have been seniors at Appalachian this past season went on to become MLB draft picks — Dowdy, Harrow, Quate and Smith, 2008 draftees
Jason Rook (Orioles),
David Rubinstein (Pittsburgh Pirates) and
Garrett Sherrill (Milwaukee Brewers) and Ben Billingsley, who played at ASU as a freshman before finishing his collegiate career at Lenoir C.C. and being drafted by the Seattle Mariners last year. Prior to last year, no Mountaineers had been drafted since 1996.
Courtesy: Marc DeRose