Two Gophers pitchers, Brian Glowicki and Lucas Gilbreath, were drafted Tuesday in the second day of the 2017 MLB draft.
Gilbreath, the junior left-handed pitcher from outside of Denver, was drafted in the seventh round, 206th overall, by his hometown team, the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies took Gilbreath out of high school in 2014 in the 36th round, but Gilbreath opted for three years of college before getting picked in this year’s draft.
“From a baseball standpoint, it made more sense for me to develop a little more and hopefully work my way up in the draft,” Gilbreath said. “Ultimately, it ended up working out for me.”
Glowicki, the Gophers’ closer from outside of Chicago who had 16 saves this season (tied for second most in NCAA), was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 10th round of the MLB Draft, 315th overall.
“It’s a blessing honestly,” Glowicki said. “I was really excited to hear them call me, and it’s the hometown team and they’re a great organization and I’m happy to be a part of them now.”
Only 20 percent of players drafted in rounds 6-10 make it to the big leagues, according to Bleacher Report. Minnesota’s head coach, John Anderson, has advice for those Gophers just starting out on the major league journey.
“Enjoy it and if you’re going to go down that road then you’ve got to get into it with both feet,” Anderson said. “[When] you play professional baseball it’s a year round job, and you’ve got to train and prepare and work at your game 12 months out of the year every single day.”
