Day 2 of MLB Draft ends with 4 Hoosier hurlers selected

When McCade Brown came off the board in the third round with the 79th overall pick Monday, he became the highest Indiana pitcher taken in the MLB Draft since Matt Bashore (No. 46) and Eric Arnett (No. 26) both got picked in the first round in 2009.

And as it turned out, Brown was just the first of four Hoosiers to be selected on Day 2 of the annual event.

Right-handers Gabe Bierman and Matt Litwicki along with lefty Tommy Sommer were also selected by big league clubs on Monday, marking the 13th time in the past 14 drafts that IU has had multiple players selected. Bierman went to the Miami Marlins in the seventh round, while Litwicki (Boston Red Sox) and Sommer (Chicago White Sox) were both 10th round choices.

IU used Bierman as its Sunday starter for the bulk of the 2021 season, turning to him to help clinch series victories on the back end of the weekend. He ranked second in the Big Ten with a 2.68 ERA, while holding opposing batters to a .179 average and striking out 80 batters over 74 innings. With his heavy sinker, it’s no surprise Bierman grabbed a team’s attention on Day 2.

Litwicki also has a standout pitch — a heater that flirts with 100 mph. This season, he used it to strike out 17 batters and hold opponents to a .234 average. He also walked just two hitters over 12 innings. Litwicki led the Hoosiers with four saves and worked his first eight outings of the spring without allowing a run.

Sommer, a steady southpaw, served as IU’s Friday starter for the majority of the spring, striking out 69 in 62.2 innings, holding the opposition to a .237 average and posting a 4.60 ERA across 12 starts. Sommer’s ERA ballooned only after a minor fingernail injury derailed his season over the final three weeks. Otherwise, he was reliably turning in quality starts during his repeat junior year.

Indiana also saw another member of its signing class presented with a professional opportunity. A day after shortstop Colson Montgomery went to the White Sox in the first round, the Washington Nationals picked outfielder T.J. White in the fifth round. White, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound South Carolina native, has a Perfect Game grade of 9.5. The scouting service ranks him as the No. 154 overall Class of 2021 recruit and the No. 26 outfielder.

The draft concludes with round Nos. 11-20 on Tuesday.