Drafted Bulldogs Stratton, Routt Sign Pro Contracts
SEC Pitcher of the Year Chris Stratton from Tupelo, Miss., signed Tuesday evening with the San Francisco Giants while junior lefty Nick Routt of Silver Spring, Md., came to terms with the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend. The first steps in professional baseball for both will be stops at their team training camps in Arizona.
Stratton was the 20th player selected in last week's draft after posting an 11-2 record, a league-leading 2.38 earned run average and 127 strikeouts in his just-concluded junior campaign. A first-team Louisville Slugger All-American and second-team Capital One Academic All-American, Stratton paced an MSU pitching staff that compiled a 2.58 earned run average, just behind Missouri State's nation-leading 2.57 ERA.
Routt, a 16th-round draft pick of the Reds, posted a 3-5 mark with a 3.80 earned run average, drawing seven early-season starts in his 18 junior season appearances. Routt allowed one earned run in his last six appearances and earned wins in relief against Southern Miss and, during MSU's championship run through the SEC Tournament, against Kentucky.
Stratton will report Wednesday to the Giants' training center in Scottsdale, Ariz., and is expected to begin his pro career with Salem-Keizer (Ore.), the Giants' short-season Class A team in the Northwest League. Routt will report this week to the Cincinnati Reds' training camp in Goodyear, Ariz., and is projected to begin his pro career with the Billings (Mont.) Mustangs in the Pioneer League.