Cubs finish first night of 2019 First-Year Player Draft |
CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs tonight completed the first evening of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft, selecting two players, including the 27th overall pick, right-handed pitcher Ryan Jensen out of Fresno State University. With the 64th selection in the second round, Chicago selected infielder Chase Strumpf out of UCLA.
Jensen was recommended by area scout Gabe Zappin and Strumpf was recommended by area scout Tom Myers. Jensen, 21, went 12-1 with a 2.88 ERA (32 ER/100.0 IP) in 16 appearances this season, striking out 107 batters while walking just 27. He has gone 9-0 with a 2.32 ERA (17 ER/66.0 IP) in his last nine starts, leading the Bulldogs to the NCAA regional final tonight vs. Stanford. He was named a second-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, as well as the Mountain West Pitcher of the Year and Mountain West Tournament MVP. The six-foot, 180-pound righty has gone 17-7 with a 4.44 ERA (104 ER/211.0 IP) in 63 appearances, including 27 starts, in three seasons at Fresno State. He has struck out 208 batters, while walking 99, in 211.0-career innings pitched. A native of Salinas, California, Jensen graduated from Salinas Union High School where he posted a 2.75 ERA in 40.2 innings as a senior in 2016. He was ranked as the 16th-best right-handed pitcher in the Class of 2016 in California by Perfect Game. Strumpf, 21, has batted .280 (61-for-218) with 13 doubles, two triples, eight homers, 41 RBI, a .418 on-base percentage and 45 walks in 59 games for UCLA, and tonight hit a three-run homer against Loyola Marymount University in the NCAA Regional Final. Strumpf was named to the Pac-12 All-Conference Team following the regular season after he was named a First Team Pre-season All-American by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, Perfect Game and D1 Baseball. Strumpf was an All-Pac-12 selection in 2018, as well as a Dick Howser Award semifinalist in the running for the nation’s top collegiate player. He led the Bruins with a .363 average, 59 runs scored and 53 RBI while amassing 23 doubles, a triple, 12 homers, a .475 on-base percentage and a .633 slugging mark. A native of Dana Point, Calif., the six-foot one-inch, 191-pound Strumpf graduated from JSerra High School in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. In 2016, he was ranked No. 31 in the 2016 Perfect Game USA Top High School Prospects in the state of California. The 2019 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continues tomorrow with rounds three-though-10 and concludes Wednesday with rounds 11-through-40.
