Published: June 10, 2009 10:24 pm         

Mateychick drafted by Tigers

Enid High School standout pitcher Tobin Mateychick was selected in the 28th round by the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday, the second day of the Major League Baseball draft.

Mateychick, 18, was the 840th overall pick in the first-year player draft.

Mateychick, who is playing for the Enid Majors American Legion team this summer, said a representative of the Tigers contacted him Wednesday afternoon to inform him of Detroit’s selection.

The Tigers’ representative also requested a schedule for the Majors games this summer.

Mateychick, who has signed at perennial power Wichita State, said he did not discuss contract terms with the Detroit scout.

Mateychick said his decision whether to sign a professional contract or play at WSU would depend on Detroit’s offer.

“At this moment, I’m Wichita State all the way,’’ he said.

Mateychick said he will play for the Majors all season.



OU busy on 2nd day of baseball draft



For Andrew Doyle, the prospect of getting drafted by the Texas Rangers immediately brought to mind one man: Nolan Ryan.

“I’m very excited to have the opportunity to work with him,” Oklahoma’s ace right-hander said by phone shortly after he was taken in the fourth round Wednesday by the Rangers. “All in all, I’m just ecstatic about the whole situation.”

Doyle was thrilled by the chance to be a pitching prospect in the Texas organization and perhaps get mentored by Ryan, the Hall of Famer who threw seven no-hitters and holds the major league record for strikeouts. Ryan is now the Rangers’ president.

“I’m very excited,” said Doyle, a native of Rock Island, Ill. “It’s a huge day for my family, friends, the coaching staff — anybody that’s been involved in my baseball career.”

Doyle’s progress in three years at Oklahoma was clear with the improvement of his draft stock. He had been a 39th round pick out of high school in 2006 and credited Sooners coach Sunny Golloway and his staff for helping him progress.

“I think the biggest thing that they’ve helped me with is my mental game,” Doyle said. “I don’t really feel like my pitching approach has changed that much.”

As Doyle sat down for lunch, a stream of his Sooners teammates joined him as early picks on the second day of baseball’s draft. Six Sooners were taken in the first 10 rounds, the most since 1976 (seven).

Fellow right-hander Garrett Richards had been the first to go, with the No. 42 pick in the supplemental portion of the first round on Tuesday.

Catcher J.T. Wise, the Big 12 player of the year, went to the Los Angeles Dodgers at No. 157 in the fifth round and center fielder Jamie Johnson was a seventh-round pick by the Detroit Tigers.

Reliever Chase Anderson and shortstop Bryant Hernandez were drafted with back-to-back picks in the ninth round, with Anderson going to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Hernandez to the Dodgers.

Sooners coach Sunny Golloway recalled that a year ago Wise didn’t take it well when his name wasn’t called on draft day.

“He was absolutely devastated, I’ll tell you that,” Golloway said. “He wasn’t even sure if he was going to go to the Cape (Cod League).”

Wise applied himself, won the conference’s top honor and then got rewarded with a high draft pick this time around.

Many of his Oklahoma teammates shared the same type of story — Richards, Anderson and Hernandez weren’t even drafted out of high school.

Despite the potential for a mass exodus to the pros, Golloway remained positive about his program’s future as he enters his fifth year as head coach.

The Sooners also have Big 12 freshman of the year Garrett Buechele and first baseman Cameron Seitzer — a pair of young players with fathers who played in the big leagues — to lead their core of returning players from this year’s team that earned the No. 7 national seed in the NCAA tournament.

Oklahoma City University lefty Ashur Tolliver went in the fifth round to the Baltimore Orioles and Oral Roberts ace Mark Serrano was a sixth-round pick by the Cincinnati Reds.

Oklahoma State’s entire starting rotation went in the first 10 rounds: Andrew Oliver in Tuesday’s second round, Tyler Blandford in the fifth round and Tyler Lyons in the 10th round.

Three more state college players went in the 11th round: Oklahoma first baseman Aaron Baker at No. 325 to Pittsburgh, Oklahoma State left fielder Neil Medchill at No. 346 to the New York Yankees and Oral Roberts right-hander Andre Lamontagne a pick later to Milwaukee.