University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Three More Bruins Chosen on Day Two of MLB Draft
June 04, 2019 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES โ Three members of the UCLA baseball team were selected Tuesday in the second day of the 2019 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, which consisted of rounds 3-10. Junior infielder Ryan Kreidler was selected in the fourth round by Detroit, redshirt junior righty Jack Ralston was a seventh round pick by St. Louis, and junior outfielder Jeremy Ydens was chosen in the eighth round by Washington.
The Bruins have now had six players selected through the first two days of the draft, tied for the most of any school nationwide. On Monday, Michael Toglia was the first round selection of the Colorado Rockies (No. 23 overall) while Ryan Garcia and Chase Strumpf were the second round choices of the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs, respectively.
In 15 seasons as UCLA's head coach, John Savage has now produced 98 MLB draft picks including 39 selections within the top-10 rounds. UCLA has 280 all-time MLB draft selections after today's haul.
This year marks the second time in program history that UCLA has had six players chosen within the first 10 rounds. The last time that happened was in 1997, a UCLA draft class that featured MLB mainstays Troy Glaus and Eric Byrnes.ย
In addition, UCLA commit Evan Fitterer was selected in the fifth round by Miami. He is the second UCLA commit to be drafted this year, joining No. 16 overall selection Corbin Carroll.ย
A steady defender on the left side of the infield over his first two years as a Bruin, Kreidler took a big step up with the bat this year. Through the first round of postseason play, he's slashing .309/.378/.522 with nine home runs and 44 RBIs. He leads the squad with 18 doubles and is one of three Bruins to have started all 60 games this year.
Ralston has been one of the breakout stars of the 2019 Bruins, improving from a 1-4 record a 6.44 ERA in 2018 to an 11-1 record and 2.55 ERA as a weekend starter this year. His has the third-most wins in the country, and he's UCLA's first 10-game winner since James Kaprielian in 2015. The Newhall, Calif. native was especially hot down the stretch, putting together a 27-inning scoreless streak from Apr. 27 to May 23. He is one of eight starting pitchers vying for the Dick Howser Trophy, and was named the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week on two occasions this year.
Ydens was a Preseason All-American this year, but has been limited to 20 games due to injury. In that time, he's put together a .250 batting average and swatted three home runs. The Campbell, Calif. native was an All-Pac-12 pick after slashing .350/.421/.558 with 28 extra-base hits and 38 RBIs as a sophomore in 2018. Ydens has a .312 career average over 99 career games with the Bruins.
The 2019 MLB Draft concludes on Wednesday with rounds 11-40.
UCLA Baseball's 2019 MLB Draftees
| Name (Pos.) | Round | Pick | Organization |
| Michael Toglia (1B) | 1 | 23 | Colorado Rockies |
| Ryan Garcia (RHP) | 2 | 50 | Texas Rangers |
| Chase Strumpf (2B) | 2 | 64 | Chicago Cubs |
| Ryan Kreidler | 4 | 112 | Detroit Tigers |
| Jack Ralston | 7 | 215 | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Jeremy Ydensย ย ย ย | 8 | 243 | Washington Nationals |
