June 9, 2010

Long Beach, Calif. - On the final day of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft, Long Beach State saw three more players selected, bringing the baseball team's grand total on the year to eight players. Seniors Steve Tinoco and TJ Mittelstaedt along with redshirt junior Jordan Casas were all picked on the third and final day.

Tinoco, a senior first baseman, was the first Dirtbag picked on the day, chosen in the 34th round by the Tampa Bay Rays, who already selected pitcher Jake Thompson in this draft. Tinoco closed out a four-year career with the Dirtbags having played in 168 games and hitting .329 over his career. He also finished with 116 RBI, 11th most in program history and one off of current Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki's 117.

A redshirt junior, Casas was picked in the 40th round by the Cleveland Indians. A player that has also spent four years with the program, Casas had a .291 batting average and 27 stolen bases over three years played with Long Beach State.

Finally, Mittelstaedt was the final player picked on Wednesday. The senior outfielder was selected in the 44th round by the Milwaukee Brewers. Long Beach State's career triples leader, Mittelstaedt also played in 193 games over a four-year career and ranks in the program's top 5 with 105 walks over his career.

With eight players selected in the 2010 draft, Long Beach State has now had 138 players picked since 1989, and has seen 28 of those players reach the major leagues. Additionally, the Dirtbags have had 18 players drafted in the first or second rounds, and 52 in the first 10 rounds of the MLB draft in the last 21 years.

2010 LONG BEACH STATE DRAFTEES
Jake Thompson, 2nd Round, Tampa Bay Rays (66)
Devin Lohman, 3rd Round, Cincinnati Reds (94)
Joey Terdoslavich, 6th Round, Atlanta Braves (194)
Jason Markovitz, 13th Round, Seattle Mariners (402)
Jonathan Jones, 29th Round, Toronto Blue Jays (876)
Steve Tinoco, 34th Round, Tampa Bay Rays (1031)
Jordan Casas, 40th Round, Cleveland Indians (1200)
TJ Mittelstaedt, 44th Round, Milwaukee Brewers (1329)