Jones, Vickerson, Parks Taken In MLB Draft
Junior right-hander Devin Jones of Eupora, Miss., was selected in the ninth round Tuesday by the Baltimore Orioles (275th selection overall), senior infielder Nick Vickerson of Tuscaloosa, Ala., was a 20th round pick of the Texas Rangers (624th selection) and senior third baseman Jarrod Parks of Madison, Miss., was a 24th round pick of the California Angels (735th pick overall).
Jones has appeared in 17 games in 2011, drawing eight starts with a 2-5 record and a 4.45 earned run average on MSU's Super Regional team. In three seasons Jones has made 15 starts in 49 career appearances, registering 92 strikeouts in 106.2 innings with four wins and a save and a 6.50 ERA.
"I'm excited about being drafted by the Orioles," said Jones, who was drafted in 2008 by the Cleveland Indians (49th round) following his prep career at Eupora High School. "It's a relief to have that off of my shoulders as we head to Gainesville for the Super Regionals."
Vickerson sports a .314 batting average and leads the club with 53 runs scored, 26 extra-bases hits and 25 stolen bases. He registered game-winning hits in all three of MSU's NCAA Atlanta Regional wins last weekend and enters this weekend's Gainesville Super Regional riding six-game hitting and RBI streaks. Vickerson has drawn 33 of his 54 starts at second base this season and sports a .320 career batting average with 46 extra-base hits and 35 stolen bases.
Parks, the 2011 regular season batting champion in the Southeastern Conference, leads Mississippi State with a .365 batting average and a league-leading .513 on-base percentage. A starter in 59 of MSU's 60 games, the former Madison Central High School and Meridian (Miss.) Community College standout also leads the club with 73 hits, 36 RBI, 43 walks and a single-season school-records 20 HBPs. He sports a .346 career batting average in 78 career games played.
Two Mississippi State signees have also been selected in the opening rounds of this year's professional baseball draft. Right-handed pitcher Brandon Woodruff of Wheeler (Miss.) High School was selected in the fifth round by the Texas Rangers while left-handed pitcher Jacob Lindgren of St. Stanislaus High School in Bay Saint Louis, Miss., was a 12th-round pick of the Chicago Cubs.