The Wolfpack baseball team had five players selected in the 2016 MLB Amateur Player Draft. The class was headlined by four juniors and one senior, and while it is still unknown if all five players will exercise their rights to leave, it is expected that most will be departing from Raleigh.
The first NC State player taken was junior first baseman Preston Palmeiro, who started 59 of the 60 games this season at first base for the Pack. The Colleyville, Texas native was drafted in the seventh round by the Baltimore Orioles, the same team with whom his father, Rafael, finished his career.
Following Palmeiro in the seventh round was junior catcher Andrew Knizner, who was drafted by St. Louis Cardinals and signed for $185,300, officially ending his NC State career. Knizner earned freshman All-America honors at third base in his inaugural campaign, but the Wolfpack coaching staff decided to move him to catcher for his sophomore season.
Knizner responded by hitting .317 in his sophomore campaign and .292 his senior year. His defense was suspect at times behind the dish, but his offensive potential made him too difficult to ignore as an MLB prospect.
Relief pitcher Will Gilbert was the next player to hear his name called, and as a senior with little leverage in the negotiation process, he signed fairly quickly with the team that selected him in the eighth round, the Oakland Athletics.
Gilbert was a lockdown force in the NC State bullpen this past season, posting a 5-1 record with a 2.22 ERA in 24 games. His most masterful performance came in a relief role against Coastal Carolina in the Raleigh Regional, where he posted eight strong innings, allowing only one run on five hits and pitching the Wolfpack into a winner-take-all game with the Chanticleers.
Gilbert was assigned to the Vermont Lake Monsters, the Class-A Short Season affiliate of the Athletics. He made his debut June 20 against the Connecticut Tigers, throwing 1.1 scoreless innings and striking out two batters.
In the 15th round, starting pitcher Ryan Williamson was selected by the Washington Nationals. Williamson had a breakout season in 2016, going 7-2 with a 2.69 ERA for the Wolfpack in 15 appearances. The Wolfpack looked like it had two dominant starters at the top of its rotation with lefty ace Brian Brown and Williamson pitching extremely well this season. However, Williamson ran into arm trouble late in the season, tearing a ligament and missing most of the Raleigh Regional, where the Wolfpack needed him healthy to succeed.
He made one start in the Regional, lasting only one inning and clearly laboring, before being shut down for the season. If rumors of Williamson needing Tommy John surgery and likely missing all of 2017 are true, then it’s hard to see Williamson returning to the Wolfpack.
Junior reliever Cody Beckman rounded out the draft class after being selected by the New York Mets in the 25th round, becoming the fifth and final NC State player drafted. Beckman’s numbers don’t jump off the page, with a 2-0 record and a shiny 6.05 ERA to boot in 16 appearances. However, Beckman looked extremely strong out of the pen for the Wolfpack in the Raleigh Regional. In addition, his ERA was largely a product of two bad outings for the lefthander, and was not indicative of his season as a whole.
Some notable Wolfpack players didn’t hear their names called in the 2016 draft, led by senior designated hitter Chance Shepard. Shepard displayed large power numbers in his final season with the Wolfpack, but his strikeouts and lack of a true position ensured he wouldn’t be drafted.
Undaunted, Shepard signed a deal with the Washington Nationals and will have a chance to continue his pursuit of the major leagues.
Also undrafted was junior right-hander Cory Wilder, who battled control issues all season but at times flashed dominant stuff. After Wilder was undrafted after 10 rounds, his father announced he would be returning to State for his senior season, effectively ending any chance he would be drafted.
Finally, senior left-hander Travis Orwig, who posted a 1.93 ERA in 17 appearances for the Wolfpack this season, went undrafted and has not signed a free agent deal at this time.
The Wolfpack lost a few very productive players from a team that won 38 games and came within one strike of a Super Regional, but with this being the third year in a row the Wolfpack has had five players drafted, the system is in place for the Wolfpack to bounce back just fine.
Junior first baseman Preston Palmeiro waits on a ball trying to tag out a runner taking a lead off first. Palmeiro had one hit and four left on base after four at bats. NC State lost its second regional game to Coastal Carolina 4-0 on June 5 at Doak Field after rain delayed the game on June 4.
