Seabold, Lundquist, Faucher picked in MLB draft
After an unprecedented opening day of the Major League Baseball draft that included three players with local ties being selected with the first 14 picks on Monday, three more locals were chosen on Tuesday.
Cal State Fullerton junior right-handed pitcher Connor Seabold, a Newport Harbor High product, was chosen in the third round (No. 83 overall) by the Philadelphia Phillies.
Long Beach State junior outfielder Brock Lundquist, a Fountain Valley High graduate, was a sixth-round pick (No. 189) by the Toronto Blue Jays.
UC Irvine senior closer Calvin Faucher was taken in the 10th round (No. 286) by the Minnesota Twins.
Seabold, a first-team All-Big West Conference performer this season, helped the Titans reach the College World Series for the second time in his three years. The 6-3, 190-pound starter is 11-5 with a 3.01 ERA heading into the CWS opener against top-ranked Oregon State on Saturday in Omaha, Neb.
Seabold has 120 strikeouts with only 22 walks in 122 2/3 innings. He had three complete games in 17 starts. He had won nine consecutive starts before being bested 3-0 by Long Beach State in the opener of the Super Regional on Friday at Blair Field.
Seabold, 21, was drafted in the 19th round by the Baltimore Orioles out of Newport Harbor in 2014.
His slot value is $656,300.
Lundquist, a three-time second-team All-Big West performer who helped the Dirtbags win their first conference crown since 2008 this season, hit. 277 with four home runs, 22 extra-base hits, 26 RBIs and 10 stolen bases as the starting right fielder. He also led the team with 32 walks.
As a designated hitter in 2015, he was a Freshman All-American, and he played left field as a sophomore.
Lundquist, 21, amassed 45 career doubles, 10 homers and 81 RBIs in his college career.
Lundquist, who was drafted in the 37th round by the Oakland A’s as a high school senior, has a slot value at $233,900.
Faucher, 21, led the Anteaters with 12 saves this season, in which he was 3-5 with a 4.01 ERA. He had 58 strikeouts and 30 walks, while allowing 41 hits in 39 2/3 innings in 2017. His 12 saves tied for the regular-season lead among Big West players.
Faucher, whose slot value is just more than $137,000, also helped win a Cape Cod League championship last summer with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.
Faucher, a transfer from Southwestern Community College in Chula Vista, produced 20 saves in two seasons to rank No. 4 in UCI annals.
UCI commit Royce Lewis, a senior shortstop at JSerra High, was the No. 1 pick by the Twins on Monday.
UCI junior All-American designated hitter and NCAA batting champion Keston Hiura was the ninth pick in the first round by the Milwaukee Brewers, and Huntington Beach High senior Nick Pratto was chosen No. 14 as a first baseman by the Kansas City Royals.
Also on Monday, Huntington Beach High senior Hagen Danner was taken as a catcher in the second round (No. 61) by Toronto, and Costa Mesa resident Blake Hunt, a senior catcher at Mater Dei High, was taken No. 69 by the San Diego Padres.
The draft concludes on Wednesday with rounds 11 through 40, beginning at 9 a.m.
Twitter: @BarryFaulkner5
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