KC area, Wichita State well represented in baseball draft

The third day of the Major League Baseball draft Wednesday saw five Wichita State players and several Kansas City-area high school players chosen.

The Rockies selected Shockers junior outfielder Sam Hilliard in the 15th round, 437th overall. Hilliard, 6 feet 5, led Wichita State with a .335 batting average and 51 RBIs.

Three rounds later, with the 530th overall pick, the Twins took fellow Wichita State outfielder Daniel Kihle, who hit .301 with four home runs and 29 RBIs last season. Junior right-hander Willie Schwanke went to the Brewers in the 22nd round, 661st overall, and senior right-hander Chase Williams went to the Padres in the 25th round, 747th overall. Schwanke appeared in only seven games, starting three, while Williams was 3-4 with a 5.59 ERA.

In other picks involving Kansas City-area players:

▪ Not long after Winnetonka outfielder Marquise Doherty, who is committed to Missouri, was snapped up by Royals in the 15th round, the Twins selected Raymore-Peculiar right-hander Kyle Wilson in the 19th round, 560th overall.

▪ Johnson County Community College sophomore first baseman Anthony Miller was picked by the Indians in the 18th round, 544th overall. Miller, a Blue Valley Southwest graduate, batted .443 with 26 home runs and 79 RBIs in 60 games for the Cavaliers. He walked 43 times and only struck out 28 times in 194 at-bats, posting a .974 slugging percentage.

▪ MidAmerica Nazarene senior shortstop Clayton Brandt was chosen by the Nationals in the 19th round, 584th overall.

▪ During the 21st round, the Astros selected Southeast Missouri junior left-hander Alex Winkelman.

▪ The Brewers selected Oklahoma State senior right-hander Jon Perrin in the 27th round, 811th overall. Perrin, a 6-4 Olathe East graduate, went 6-4 with a 4.06 ERA in 16 starts for the Cowboys, striking out 72 and allowing 79 hits and 31 walks in 84 2/3 innings last season.

▪ Bobby Wernes, a Blue Valley West graduate, was drafted in the 30th round, 889th overall, by the Astros. Wernes, an Arkansas third baseman, is still finishing his college career as the Razorbacks advanced to the College World Series earlier in the week. He’s hitting .280 and leads his team in triples with six.

▪ Blue Springs South outfielder Nathaniel Pecota was taken in the 38th round, 1,146th overall, by the Giants. Earlier in the round, the Rangers picked Emporia State third baseman Dean Long with pick No. 1,128.

▪ In the 40th and final round, Missouri State shortstop Joseph Hawkins was selected by the Cardinals at No. 1,211 and the Dodgers took the Shockers’ final player drafted, right-hander Isaac Anderson at No. 1,212. Hawkins hit .262 last season, while Anderson posted a 5-7 record with a 3.94 ERA in 2015.

This story was originally published June 10, 2015 at 6:32 PM with the headline "KC area, Wichita State well represented in baseball draft."