Mull, Bailey Begin Professional Careers In Arizona League
6/24/2010 12:30:36 AM
Former Wheeling Jesuit star Noah Mull is beginning his professional career this week with the Arizona League Padres.
(PRINCETON, W.Va.)---A pair of former WVIAC pitching standouts are beginning their professional baseball careers in the rookie level Arizona League. 2010 WVIAC Pitcher of the Year Noah Mull of Wheeling Jesuit and hard-throwing Concord hurler Andrew Bailey are making their initial minor league stops in the Valley of the Sun. The AZL opened their campaign earlier this week.
Bailey, a native of Christiansburg, VA, was tabbed in the 35th round by the Oakland Athletics organization and is the first Mountain Lion to be selected in the MLB Amateur Draft since 1994. He compiled a 5-1 record with a 4.82 earned run average during the past season as the Mountain Lions rolled to a 29-9 overall record.
Mull was taken in the 38th round by the San Diego Padres and is the first Wheeling Jesuit player to be taken in the draft. He earned third team Division II All-American accolades after going 7-1 with 2.09 earned run average this spring. His 13.02 strikeouts per nine innings ranked second nationally and the former Wheeling Central HS star also ranked in the Division II top ten by holding foes to a scant 6.27 hits per nine innings.
The 2009 WVIAC Pitcher of the Year, Ben Watkins from Pitt Johnstown, was enjoying a solid campaign during his second season in the New York Yankees organization before being slowed by an injury. He is 2-2 with a 4.44 earned run average in 24 relief appearances for the Class A Charleston Riverdogs of the South Atlantic League. Watkins, who was taken in the 40th round of last year's draft, established a WVIAC single-season record with a 0.84 earned run average in 2009. He was 5-0 with a 2.47 earned run average last season for Staten Island during his rookie season of professional ball.
All-time WVIAC draft picks
Minorleaguebaseball.com pages for Andrew Bailey, Noah Mull, and Ben Watkins.