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Oregon State redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Drew Rasmussen has been selected in the first round, 31st overall, by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Rasmussen’s selection is the second of his career following a 39th-round pick by Arizona in 2014 out of Mt. Spokane High School in Spokane, Wash. He has appeared in 31 games over his career with Oregon State, starting 24, and is 14-5 with a 2.68 earned run average. He has struck out 146, to 45 walks, while limiting opponents to a .215 batting average in 164 2/3 innings. He is just the second Oregon State player ever drafted by Tampa Bay, following Ryan Dunn’s selection in the 17th round in 2012.
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KJ Harrison and Jake Thompson each heard their names called during day two of the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday. Harrison was selected in the third round, 84th overall, by the Milwaukee Brewers, while Thompson was a fourth-round pick, 132nd overall, by the Boston Red Sox. For each, it marks their second career draft selection. Harrison had been taken by Cleveland in the 25th round in 2014. Thompson previously was a 34th-round pick by the Chicago Cubs in 2013. Harrison is batting .330 for the Beavers this season, and has a team-leading eight home runs to go along with 39 runs batted in, 13 doubles and seven stolen bases. He is tied for fourth in Oregon State history with 28 career home runs, and seventh with 146 RBI. He is also tied for ninth with 39 doubles. A CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 selection this year, he has also been named a Pac-12 First-Team honoree all three seasons at Oregon State. Thompson leads the nation with 14 wins – tying him with Scott Christman (1993) and Andrew Moore (2013) for the most in a single-season at OSU. His 1.52 earned run average ranks fifth, and the Florence, Ore., native has held opponents to a .184 batting average this season. In three seasons at OSU, he is 20-6 with a 2.96 ERA. An economics major, Thompson was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American earlier in June. He is also one of four finalists for the Dick Howser Trophy, and one of five for the Gregg Olson Award, given annually to the breakout player of the year. Harrison is the sixth Beaver selected by Milwaukee all-time – the last was Trever Morrison in 2016 in the 12th round. Boston, meanwhile, has selected an Oregon State player five times now, with Kraig Sitton, in the 17th round in 2009, the last selection before Thompson.
