The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Six Longhorns selected on day three of 2017 MLB Draft
06.14.2017 | Baseball
The 11 total Longhorns selected are the most of any school in the country.
AUSTIN, Texas—After five members of the Texas Baseball team were selected over the first two days of the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft, six additional Longhorns were selected on day three: RHP Tyler Schimpf (Giants, 13th round, No. 396 overall), RF Patrick Mathis (Astros, 22nd, 661), RHP Connor Mayes (Royals, 24th, 720), 2B Zane Gurwitz (Angels, 26th, 775), UTIL Travis Jones (Royals, 29th, 870), and LHP Jon Malmin (Angels, 31st, 925). In total, 11 Longhorns were selected in the draft, tied for most of any school in the country (with Michigan).
Schimpf, a redshirt-sophomore this past season, compiled a 1.56 ERA in 12 appearances. The Sacramento, Calif., native allowed three runs and 11 hits in 17.1 innings on the hill for Texas. The right-hander struck out 13, finished with a 1.15 WHIP and held opponents to a .180 batting average against.
Mathis, a junior, hit .263 in three seasons with the Longhorns. The outfielder, who, in 2016, hit a career-best .297 with a team-most six home runs, missed a month of the 2017 season with a lower leg strain. Despite the injury, Mathis clubbed a career-high seven homers to go along with 19 RBI. He also stole six bases and added five doubles.
Mayes, a junior, appeared in 13 games (four starts) on the mound for Texas, striking out 22 in 27 innings of work. In his career, Mayes has compiled a 3.58 ERA in 64 appearances (19 starts) for the Longhorns. He has four saves to his name and has a career .237 batting average against.
Gurwitz, a senior, was one of the Longhorns' most reliable position players over his four seasons at Texas. The San Antonio native played both infield and outfield for the Longhorns and fielded at a .966 clip in his career. In the last two seasons, however, he made just two errors in 248 opportunities between center field and second base.
During his senior campaign, Gurwitz tied for the team-lead with a .305 batting average and served as the Longhorns' most productive hitter over the final month and a half of the season. From May 2 to the end of the year, Gurwitz hit .433/.462/.517 with 10 RBI in 16 games (14 starts). In postseason play, he hit .448/.484/.552 with a team-most 13 hits in eight games (six starts). Overall, Gurwitz finished his career with a .285/.351/.404 line to go along with 14 homers, 33 doubles, six triples, 22 stolen bases and 102 RBI.
Jones, a junior, appeared in all 63 games for the Longhorns this season. The infielder/outfielder hit .253 this season with a team-high 18 doubles for the Longhorns. He drove in 32 runs to go along with one triple, four home runs and a team-high 14 stolen bases. Jones was also hit with 15 pitches this year, giving him 23 in his career, tying him for ninth-most all-time at Texas.
In three seasons at Texas, Jones compiled a .267/.390/.393 line that included hitting .300 during his sophomore campaign. He has seven homers, 25 doubles and 54 RBI over the past two seasons on the 40 acres.
Malmin, the left-hander from Troy, made 44 relief outings in four years on the 40 acres. He finished with a 4.66 ERA in 48.1 innings of work, striking out 43 and holding opponents to a .269 average.
The six Longhorns today join RHP Morgan Cooper (Dodgers, 2nd round, 62nd), LHP Nick Kennedy (Rockies, 5th, 146), RHP Kyle Johnston (Nationals, 6th, 193), 2B Bret Boswell (Rockies, 8th, 236) and 1B Kacy Clemens (Blue Jays, 8th, 249) as Longhorns taken in this year's draft.
Additionally, several Texas Baseball signees were taken over the three days: OF Tristen Lutz (1st, 34), RHP Landon Leach (2nd, 37), RHP Donny Diaz (23rd, 701) and LHP Blake Pflughaupt (27th, 799).
