Lincoln - A pair of University of Nebraska baseball players were chosen during the second day of the 2003 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft Wednesday. Junior pitcher Jason Burch (Papillion, Neb.) was chosen in the 21st-round by the St. Louis Cardinals, while outfielder Drew Anderson (Kearney, Neb.) was a 24th-round selection of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Burch developed into one of the Huskers? best relievers this spring, going 4-1 with a 2.89 ERA in 18 appearances. The 6-foot-5 right-hander was second on the team with five saves while striking out 32 hitters in 28 innings of work. During his three-year career, Burch is 8-3 with six saves in 42 appearances, including seven starts, helping the Huskers to a pair of Big 12 titles and three NCAA Regional appearances. Burch played his high school ball at Papillion-LaVista High School, where he was a two-time all-state selection.
Anderson was a part-time starter for the Huskers this spring, batting .238 with three homers and 19 RBIs in 57 contests. The outfielder ranked among the team leaders with seven stolen bases, while his three homers exceeded his entire total of his first two seasons. He earned a spot on the DQ Baseball Classic All-Tournament team in early March, hitting .571 with two doubles in helping NU to the tournament title, including wins over nationally ranked Notre Dame and Wake Forest.
In all, five Huskers were chosen in the 2003 Major League Draft, marking the fourth straight season where four or more players were selected. In all, a total of 124 players have been drafted or signed free agent contracts since 1950.
Drew Anderson?s Career Statistics
Year AVG GP-GS AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB-ATT
2001 .293 27-7 41 13 12 0 0 1 10 5 8 9-9
2002 .266 63-47 188 36 50 5 1 1 32 29 40 8-12
2003 .238 57-28 126 17 30 4 0 3 19 14 30 7-12
TOTAL .259 147-82 355 66 92 9 1 5 61 48 78 24-33
Jason Burch?s Career Statistics
Year ERA W-L App GS CG SH SV IP H R ER BB SO
2001 7.65 1-0 7 4 0 0/0 0 20.0 33 22 17 5 19
2002 5.19 3-2 17 2 0 0/0 1 34.2 40 28 20 14 21
2003 2.89 4-1 18 1 0 0/0 5 28.0 29 17 9 11 32
TOTAL 5.01 8-3 42 7 0 0/0 6 82.2 102 67 46 30 72
|
Drafted Huskers |
Round |
Pick No. |
Organization |
|
Aaron Marsden, LHP |
Third |
77 |
Colorado |
|
Matt Hopper, 1B |
10th |
295 |
Philadelphia |
|
Jeff Leise, CF |
12th |
341 |
San Diego |
|
Jason Burch, RHP |
21st |
635 |
St. Louis |
|
Drew Anderson, OF |
24th |
799 |
Milwaukee |
Courtesy: Scott Bruhn/NU Media Relations