Here’s where 11 Penn State and State College Spikes players went in 2022 MLB Draft

The 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft has come to an end.

Eleven combined players from Penn State and the State College Spikes were selected in the MLB Draft from Sunday through Tuesday. Of those, four are position players and seven are pitchers. One Penn State player was selected in Day 2 of the draft, while each 2022 Spikes draftee went in Day 3.

Here are the players who played for Penn State and the Spikes:

Penn State C Matt Wood, Round 4, Pick 132 (Milwaukee Brewers)

Wood owned a slash line of .379/.480/.667 with a 1.146 on-base plus slugging percentage. He added 12 home runs and 53 RBIs this season. The Penn State catcher also drew 36 walks in 249 plate appearances and stole five bases in 54 games. Wood had a 26-game hitting streak and a 36-game reached-base streak and went .469 from the plate during that time.

During his time with the Nittany Lions, he batted .340 with an on-base percentage of .437 and a slugging percentage of .552. Wood totaled 132 hits, 26 doubles, four triples, 16 home runs, 79 RBI with 62 walks over the course of 473 plate appearances.

“He’s a little bit in shock,” Cooper said on Thursday. “I don’t mean it like he’s surprised, it’s something that when you first start playing baseball you dream about — to hear your name called by a team. His name was called. I just talked to him and he was like, ‘Hey. Now the real work begins.’ He goes, ‘My goal isn’t to get drafted, it’s to play in the Big Leagues.’ He knows that it’s an opportunity. He’s just got to go out and play. It’s what he’s good at — being himself and playing.”

State College Spikes

UC Irvine OF Nathan Church, Round 11, Pick 337 (St. Louis Cardinals)

Church played right and left field for UC Irvine from 2020-2022, During his 120 games, he put together a .341/.405/.515 slash line with a .920 on-base plus slugging percentage, along with 33 doubles, 10 triples, 12 home runs and 104 RBIs and 14 stolen bases.

He played 19 games with the Spikes in 2021, owning numbers consistent with his collegiate performance. Church owned a .343 batting average, got on-base at a .410 clip and added a slugging percentage of .600. He proved that he could make the most of his time in State College with four home runs, 17 RBIs and six walks in 78 at-bats.

Arkansas RHP Mark Adamiak, Round 15, Pick 454 (Oakland Athletics)

Adamiak primarily held a bullpen role with the Razorbacks from 2020-2022 with just three starts in 11 appearances. He went 2-0 with a 5.28 ERA, a 1.696 walks plus hits per innings pitch statistic, along with 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings and 4.7 walks per nine innings. He pitched in six games with the Spikes this season, going 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA in nine innings pitched, allowing 14 hits, 10 runs eight walks and striking out eight batters. He owned a WHIP of 2.444, striking out and walking eight batters per nine innings respectively.

Central Missouri RHP Josh Bortka, Round 16, Pick 482 (Philadelphia Phillies)

A 6-foot-5, 225 right-handed pitcher from Central Missouri, Bortka stood tall in 17 relief appearances in college in 2022. He went 4-0 with a 2.96 ERA in 24.1 innings pitched. He allowed 16 hits, eight earned runs, one home run and 10 walks. Bortka walked 3.7 batters per nine innings and struck out 15.2 batters in that same span. The 23-year old went 0-1 in six games for the Spikes. He owned an ERA of 4.66 in 9.2 innings, allowing 10 hits, five earned runs, while walking four batters and striking out 16.

Tulane RHP Tyler Hoffman, Round 17, Pick 506 (Colorado Rockies)

The 6-foot, 182-pound right-hander pitched for Tulane, owning a 6-7 record and a 5.04 ERA in 89.1 innings pitched. He allowed 71 hits, 50 earned runs, seven home runs, while walking 54 batters and striking out 106. Hoffman owned a 2.25 ERA in seven games (eight innings pitched) for the Spikes in 2022. He allowed just four hits, two runs (two earned), while walking five and striking out 10 batters. He walked 5.6 batters per nine and struck out 11.3 in the same span.

Toledo RHP Connor Brandon, Round 17, Pick 509 (New York Mets)

The Toledo righty went 8-8 in 37 appearances (28 starts) with the Rockets. He had an ERA of 6.48 in 123.2 innings pitched, allowing 127 hits, 89 earned runs, 11 homers, 93 walks and struck out 128. He walked 6.8 batters per nine innings and struck out 9.3 in nine innings.

Kentucky RHP Daniel Harper, Round 17, Pick 512 (Phillies)

Harper will consistently pound the strike zone, repeats his delivery and uses both the left and right sides of the strike zone. Standing in at 6-foot-4, 225-pounds, the 23-year-old pitcher from the University of Kentucky had a 15-7 record with a 4.46 ERA in 171.1 innings pitched and struck out 8.2 batters per nine innings in five seasons. He pitched in 100 games and primarily out of the bullpen, making just 11 starts over that span.

The Kentucky reliever boosted his draft stock with elite pitching during his stint with the Spikes in 2022. Pitching in 9.2 innings, Harper had a 1-0 record, allowed no runs, just seven hits, four walks and struck out 11 batters. He owned a 1.389 WHIP, walked 3.7 batters per nine innings and struck out 8.2 batters per nine innings.

Spikes manager Dave Trembley spoke highly of Harper, comparing him to former Baltimore Orioles closer Jim Johnson. Johnson had a 13-year career with an ERA of 3.79 over 704.2 innings pitched, compiling 178 saves.

“(Harper) isn’t as big as JJ (Johnson), but I had JJ in Double A as a starter,” Trembley said. “When I had him in Baltimore, we pitched him out of the bullpen and when George Sherrill, who saved 34 games for us that year got traded, JJ became the closer and saved 50 games three years in a row. (Harper) reminds me of JJ in that he has power stuff, he’s a strike-thrower and that he competes. He’s really aggressive — he attacks, attacks and attacks and works fast.”

Billings Central RHP Brock Blatter, Round 19, Pick 563 (Chicago Cubs)

Blatter, 17, was the youngest player to suit up for the Spikes in 2022. He went 0-1 with an ERA of 3.97 and pitched 11.1 innings in five starts. He gave up 11 hits, five earned runs and walked 14 batters over five games, while striking out 16 batters. He had a WHIP of 2.206, while walking 11.1 batters per nine innings and striking out 12.7 batters per nine innings. Blatter is currently committed to play for Alabama at the conclusion of the draft. Chances are that the Billings Central product will play for the Crimson Tide to boost his draft stock in the future.

Missouri RHP Drew Garrett, Round 19, Pick 572 (Phillies)

Garrett previously attended Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas, before heading to Missouri. The 6-foot-6, 205-pound pitcher owned an ERA of 9.00 through 15 innings pitched. His biggest stat that projects is his nine strikeouts per nine innings rate as a reliever in college. He fared a little better with the Spikes in 2021 with a 6.08 ERA in 26.2 innings pitched, allowing 17 hits, 18 earned runs, one home run and 35 walks. He also had 46 strikeouts during that time with a strikeout per nine innings rate of 15.5.

Purdue OF Curtis Washington Jr., Round 19, Pick 576 (Seattle Mariners)

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Washington Jr. was a steady hitter during his collegiate career. He began with Arkansas (2019-2021) and completed his time in college with Purdue. During his three collegiate seasons, Washington Jr. compiled a .317/.395/.409 slash line with an OPS of .805. He had 82 hits in 259 at-bats — eight doubles, two triples, four home runs and 35 RBI.

California SS Keshawn Ogans, Round 20, Pick 605 (Atlanta Braves)

The 5-foot-9 Ogans played 16 games in the Prospects League in 2021, playing second base, outfield, shortstop and pitched a game. In 2022 with the Spikes, he logged 168 innings at shortstop with 22 putouts, 48 assists and committed three errors on 73 chances. He also turned nine double plays, owning a fielding percentage of .959.

Ogans, 20, provided a solid offensive game as well, batting .315/.378/.420 with an OPS of .798 at California in 2022. He had 69 hits, 12 doubles, one triple, three home runs, 30 RBI and 20 walks in 246 appearances. The shortstop boosted his on-base percentage to .419 and slugged .431 in 20 games for State College in 2022. He too reminds Trembley of a former Orioles player.

“I think Ogans reminds me of César Izturis,” Trembley said. “I’ve seen a lot of guys his size who can catch the ground balls. He’s really good.”