Tyler Davis doesn't look much like a professional pitcher, what with his red, wavy hair and eye glasses -- the latter being reminiscent of former New York Yankees' pitcher Ryne Duren.
But then Duren made the big leagues, so why not Davis, the Mitty High (Class of 2011) grad? Wednesday, on Day 3 of the MLB First-Year Player Draft, the right-handed hurler took the first step to a pro career when he was picked by the Texas Rangers in the 22nd round.
Davis is also on the smaller side, standing just 5-foot-10. But that didn't prevent him from earning all-state at Mitty, nor going 8-6 this season with a 3.20 earned run average for the University of Washington. He has struck out 93 batters in 112.2 innings, with 27 walks. Batters are hitting just .228 against him.
"I'm really happy for him," said Bill Hutton, Davis' coach at Mitty. "His name is all over the Mitty record books as well as the UW record book. Great competitor, even better person. Great family. It's very special to have two boys with a chance to play pro ball."
Davis' brother, Erik Davis, is with the Washington Nationals and is recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Said Tyler Davis to writer Gregg Bell of gohuskies.com last year when he began to make an impact with Washington: "People, when I get out there on the mound, they are like ‘Who’s this guy? He can’t throw hard.’ They are right about that. But I will do everything to beat you."
Davis is also the third Bay Area player from the Huskies drafted during the three-day MLB draft, the others being former St. Francis High outfielder Braden Bishop and former Campolindo catcher Austin Rei.
Davis' father, Tom, was musing on Twitter about his son's selection Wednesday as the MLB Draft Tracker on Twitter seemed to go down at about the time Tyler was picked.
Tweeted the proud dad: "Since the @MLBDraftTracker stopped, literally on your pick @tddavisUW19, now you can forever say you brought down the house! #congrats.
"We are so proud of Tyler and how he has handled himself throughout high school, college and now beyond," Tom Davis said to Prep2Prep. "He is one of the hardest workers you'll ever meet and a genuinely kind person. We weren't sure if he would be drafted or not, but if anyone ever deserved to be it is Tyler and we are thrilled beyond words for him. We can't wait to continue to get to see him play!"
Davis was one of many players from the greater San Francisco Bay Area to be picked on Day 3 of the draft. Others from the West Catholic Athletic League alone were Christian Cecilio, a left-handed pitcher from Bellarmine College Prep and USF (22nd round, Rangers); right handed pitcher Michael Peterson from St. Francis High and Riverside Community College (17th round, Brewers); first baseman Nick Lynch of St. Ignatius and UC Davis (Angels, 30th round); and catcher Collin Theroux from Serra High (33rd round, Twins) and San Joaquin Delta College. Theroux will transfer to Oklahoma State for next school year if he does not sign a pro contract, according to the Serra High Facebook page.
The Twins have tapped Serra before, having taken left-handed pitcher Dan Serafini in the first round in 1992.
Also drafted (39th round, Nationals) was infielder Jake Jefferies of Foothill High and Cal State Fullerton, son of Serra grad Gregg Jefferies. Gregg was a first-round pick of the New York Mets in 1985 and a two-time National League all-star.
A prominent SF peninsula prep taken on Day 3 was outfielder Jonathan Engelmann from Burlingame High. That prompted a Twitter response from Jeff Sullivan, a Minnesota Twins associate scout: "Congrats to Jonathan Engelmann drafted by the Minnesota Twins! Worked hard all year and you won't find a better kid!"
An interesting late pick (36th round, Mets) was outfielder Anthony Gordon of Terra Nova High. He also starred at quarterback for the TN football team and will play QB at City College of San Francisco, he said, if he doesn't sign with the Mets.
Others from the area picked late on Day 2, or on Day 3 were:
Round 10: Tyler Cyr, RHP; Kennedy-Fremont, Skyline College, Embry-Riddle University (Giants).
Round 10: James Terrell, outfielder, St. Paul-St. Vincent High (Oakland Athletics).
Round 11: James Shull; RHP; Tracy High, Fresno State (Tigers)
Round 15: Ryan Howell; 2B; Heritage-Brentwood High, University of Nevada, Chabot College (Athletics).
Round 16: Brandon Quintero; RHP, Sonora High, Cal State LA (White Sox).
Round 17: Collin Ferguson; INF, Santa Cruz High, St. Mary's College (Rockies).
Round 17: Nate Gercken; RHP; Pinole Valley High, Academy of the Arts (Twins).
Round 18: Chris Keck, 3B; Amador Valley High, UCLA (Rockies).
Round 22: Domenec Mazza; LHP; Clayton Valley High, UCSB (Giants).
Round 25: Justin Hooper; LHP; De La Salle High (Brewers).
Round 28: Jonathan Engelmann; OF; Burlingame High (Twins).
Round 30: Tucker Forbes; RHP; Stevenson School, UCLA (Giants).
Round 40: Trevor Larnach; RF; College Park High (Padres).
