Four More Sun Devils Selected During Second Day of MLB Draft

June 4, 2003

TEMPE, Ariz. (www.TheSunDevils.com) -- Four more Arizona State baseball players were selected by Major League teams today during the second day of Major League Baaseball's first-year player draft. The Sun Devils had a record eight players selected in the first 20 rounds on Tuesday and the 12 total selections are the most by ASU during the Pat Murphy era.

Redshirt sophomore pitcher Mark Sopko (21st rd., Toronto Blue Jays), junior outfielder Rod Allen (22nd rd., Tampa Bay Devil Rays), senior third baseman Dennis Wyrick (23rd rd., Baltimore Orioles) and junior outfielder Mike Guerrero (42nd rd., Arizona Diamondbacks) were all taken in the final day of the annual amateur draft.

Junior outfielder Andre Ethier (2nd rd., Oakland Athletics), senior pitcher Beau Vaughan (3rd rd., Boston Red Sox), junior DH/C Jeremy West (7th rd., Boston Red Sox), junior second baseman Steve Garrabrants (9th rd., Arizona Diamondbacks), junior closer Ryan Schroyer (11th rd., Minnesota Twins), senior left-handed reliever Bryce Kartler (11th rd., New York Yankees), senior pitcher Robbie McClellan (12th rd., Kansas City Royals) and senior pitcher Ben Thurmond (15th rd., San Francisco Giants) were all taken Tuesday in the first day of the draft.

Sopko, a draft eligible sophomore from Joliet, Ill., was the one of the first players taken during the second day of the draft as the 21st round selection of the Toronto Blue Jays. Undrafted out of high school, Sopko is 3-2 with a 2.38 ERA for the Sun Devils in 2003. The hard-throwing right-hander has made 24 appearances this year, with seven starts.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays selected Allen with the 638th overall selection in the draft in the 22nd round. Allen, who has been out the last three weeks with a broken bone in his left hand, is hitting .305 (36-for-118) with six home runs and 41 RBI. Allen was a freshman All-American in 2001 and has 18 career home runs. Allen was a 34th round selection of the Cincinnati Reds out of Desert Vista High School in Phoenix in 2000.

Senior third baseman Dennis Wyrick (Azusa, Calif.) was selected in the 23rd round with the 674th overall pick in the draft by the Baltimore Orioles. A four-year letterwinner for the Sun Devils, Wyrick is hitting .356 (58-for-163) in 2003 with eight doubles, four triples, one home run and 34 RBI. In his four years at ASU, Wyrick has combined for a career .341 batting average with 194 hits, 22 doubles and 100 RBI in 185 games. Wyrick improved his draft stock from his 35th round selection by the Detroit Tigers out of Bishop Amat High School in 1999.

Junior outfielder/first baseman Mike Guerrero was the last of the 12 Sun Devils to be taken during the 2003 MLB draft. Guerrero was the 42nd round selection of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The redshirt junior has been a key element off the bench and in spot starts for the Sun Devils in 2003, hitting .362 (34-for-94) with 12 doubles, two triples and two home runs. Guerrero was a 36th round selection of the Boston Red Sox in 2000.