Three Chippewas selected in 2016 MLB Draft


Three Central Michigan baseball players were selected in the 2016 MLB Draft, but only one of those players is a senior.

Junior left-handed pitcher Nick Deeg was taken in the 30th round and pick No. 905 overall by the San Francisco Giants. Two rounds later, senior right-handed pitcher Sean Renzi was selected by the Chicago White Sox at pick No. 956 overall. Sophomore shortstop Zach McKinstry was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 33rd round at pick No. 1001 overall.

Deeg and McKinstry have the choice to either go to their team's minor league system or come back to CMU. 

"We've seen guys get drafted really high, really low, all over the place," said Head Coach Steve Jaksa. "Anytime a guy gets his name drawn, it tells them all the hard work they put in and it means a lot as far as where their career is going. With Renzi, it was a last opportunity to get himself out there. We've had several conversations with (McKinstry and Deeg) about their short and long-term futures."

Jaksa is mostly interested in what's best for Deeg and McKinstry's careers. He said he wants success for them on and off the field by continuing success at the game and also by acquiring a degree from school.

"They're both different. Zach's different than Nick in terms of their time frame (left at CMU)," Jaksa said. "Nick has to look at things differently. In his eyes, it's in terms of where he was picked, the kind of season he had this year, was he happy with it, accomplishments last year. Professional baseball is different than college baseball in a number of ways in regards to all of those things."

Jaksa has not spoken with the Giants or Dodgers about their feelings about Deeg or McKinstry. He also is unsure if the organizations have followed up with the players yet and if they will give them time to decide on going back to CMU or turning pro. 

During the 2016 season, Deeg went 4-7 with a 3.95 ERA in 15 starts. He struck out 86, which was the most among CMU pitchers, and threw two complete game shutouts, one of those being in the Mid-American Conference Tournament against Ball State.

Renzi was 5-7 with a 4.70 ERA in 19 appearances (11 starts) last season. He holds a career ERA of 3.98 and a 12-11 record. He stands at 6-foot-3 and is 242 pounds. The Illinois native played five seasons for the Chippewas after a season-ending injury during the 2013 season allowed him to redshirt. 

McKinstry has appeared in 118 games for the Chippewas during his two years at CMU, starting 117 of them. He holds a career .321 batting average and has 148 total hits for the Maroon and Gold. He was named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team and Second Team All-MAC in 2015. He led the Chippewas in batting average (.325), at-bats (243) and hits (79) in 2016.M

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