Penguin Alumni in Professional Baseball

by YSU

Sunday, Jul 21, 2013 11:42 am

Four alumni of the Youngstown State baseball program are currently playing professional baseball. Drew Dosch recently signed a contract with the Baltimore Orioles, Phil Klein and Eric Marzec are pitching at the Double-A level, and Justin Thomas is pitching in Japan.

Dosch, who was taken by the Orioles in the seventh round of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft, signed his contract on July 11. According to the Baltimore Sun newspaper, Dosch agreed to a signing bonus of $218,500, which was $54,700 above the slot value. Dosch, who tore his ACL in his final regular-season series at YSU, will spend the rest of 2013 rehabilitating his knee.

Klein earned an early-season promotion in the Texas Rangers organization to the Firsco RoughRiders of the Double-A Texas League. Klein, a 30th-round selection in 2011, is 3-0 with a 2.86 ERA in 19 appearances for Frisco. In 34.2 innings, he has struck out 47 batters while holding opponents to a .207 batting average. In his minor league career, Klein has an 11-2 record with a 2.40 ERA in 131 innings. He has struck out an impressive 10.8 batters per nine innings.

Marzec is also having a strong season as a reliever at the Double-A level pitching for the Huntsville Stars, the Double-A affiliate for the Milwaukee Brewers in the Southern League. Marzec is 2-0 with a 2.04 ERA in 27 appearances for the Stars. He has struck out 30 batters in 35.1 innings while limiting opposing hitters to a .243 average. Right-handed hitters are hitting .188 against Marzec. Marzec, a 30th-round pick in the 2010 draft, has a 2.35 ERA in 195.0 career innings as a professional. He's pitched as high as the Triple-A level in 2011.

Thomas' signing with the Hakkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan was announced on July 12. Thomas spent the early part of the 2013 season pitching for the Sacramento River Cats, the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. In 16 starts for the River Cats, Thomas was 3-6 with a 4.48 ERA. Thomas pitched in the Majors as recently as 2012 for the Red Sox and the Yankees, and he also pitched for the Pirates and Mariners.

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