Two Zags Selected on Day Two of MLB Draft
6/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
SECAUCUS, N.J.—Two Gonzaga baseball players heard their name called during the second day of the MLB
Bailey was the first Zag drafted this year, being selected in the sixth round and 172nd overall by the Oakland Athletics. The junior righty had a career year in 2016, going 10-3 with a 2.42 ERA. The Broomfield, Colo., native struck out 125 batters, the third-most in a single season in program history. During a West Coast Conference Championships game against BYU in May, he fanned 17 batters, the most by a Bulldog since the early 1990s. He also earned big wins when Gonzaga beat then-No. 7 TCU in March and began both the WCC Championships and NCAA Regionals with a victory.
Harris was picked in the ninth round and 274th overall by the Washington Nationals. A senior, Harris was the Zags' starting catcher for the last two years, earning WCC Defensive Player of the Year in 2015. As a senior, Harris' offensive numbers picked up as he set career highs in hits, doubles, RBIs, home runs, and runs scored. Defensively, the Claremont, Calif., native caught 13 attempted base stealers this season while picking off six runners as well. In 2015, Harris caught 28 runners for a caught stealing percentage of 50.9; both of those numbers rated among the five best in the nation.
This is the fourth time in the last six years the Zags have seen multiple players picked in the first 10 rounds. They also saw a pair selected by the second day in 2011, 2013, and 2015. Bailey is the highest-picked Zag since Marco Gonzales was selected in the first round of the 2013 draft.
Bailey and Harris led the Bulldogs to a 36-21 record and their first-ever at-large berth to the NCAA Baseball Championships this season. Gonzaga also earned a share of the WCC title, its third since 2009, with an 18-9 mark in conference play.
The 2016 MLB
