Kentucky left-handed pitcher Zach Logue and outfielder Zach Reks were selected in the ninth and 10th rounds, respectively, of the 2017 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft on Tuesday, the second day of the three-day event.
The two players gave Kentucky six selections in the first 10 rounds, a school record. Logue and Reks join first baseman Evan White (1st round, Seattle), infielder Riley Mahan (3rd, Miami), pitcher Logan Salow (6th, Oakland) and pitcher Zach Pop (7th, Los Angeles Dodgers) in being drafted the first two days.
Logue was picked No. 279 overall by the Toronto Blue Jays. The junior from Mason, Ohio was the Wildcats’ Saturday starter throughout the regular season, compiling a 7-5 record with 88 strikeouts in 87 innings. Logue was bitten by the home run at times but he started the regional-clinching victory over NC State and was a terrific complement to right-handers Sean Hjelle and Justin Lewis.
For his career, Logue is 12-9 with a 4.33 earned run average in 54 appearances, with 27 starts. He has struck out 150 hitters in 170.1 innings and filled a variety of roles for the Cats over the past three years.
Reks, who joined the team as a walk-on for the 2016 and 2017 seasons, was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers with the 310th overall pick. He leaves the program with his .344 career mark the 11th-highest batting average in school history. The senior from Orland, Ill. pounded on the 10th most hits (86) in a single-season while hitting .352 in 65 games this year. Reks had 16 doubles, two triples, three home runs, 44 RBI, stole 15 bases and walked 42 times against just 26 strikeouts. His 137 hits rank 33rd on UK’s career hit list.
Reks began his career at the Air Force Academy before transferring to UK to study engineering. He worked at the Toyota plant in Georgetown, Ky. before the previous coaching staff saw him working out at the field with a former teammate and offered him a chance to walk on.
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Matt May