Sems, Beers Selected on Final Day of MLB Draft
7/13/2021 3:28:00 PM | Baseball
• MLB Draft Tracker
• Michigan Players Selected in MLB Draft
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan shortstop Benjamin Sems and pitcher Blake Beers were selected during the third day of the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft on Tuesday (July 13).
Sems was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 15th round (440th overall) while Beers was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 19th round (578th overall).
The duo joins left-handed pitcher Steven Hajjar who was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the second round (61st overall) on Monday (July 12).
Michigan has now had at least one player chosen in the MLB Draft in each of the last nine years under head coach Erik Bakich. The Wolverines have seen 12 players drafted in the past three years and 26 players drafted in the past five years. Michigan led all schools nationally in 2017 with 11 draft selections.
Hailing from Chesterfield, Mo., Sems earned second team All-Big Ten honors in the spring after starting all 46 games. He batted .314 with a .389 on-base percentage and ranked among team leaders in extra-base hits (15) and RBI (30), and playing sensational defense at the shortstop position. Sems hit safely in 22 of the last 26 games during the regular season.
Beers
A Manhattan Beach, Calif., native, Beers is a hard-throwing right-hander who features a 97 mph fastball and a plus slider. He struck out 21 batters over 25.2 innings of work in 13 appearances as a senior after posting a 2-2 record and a 3.13 earned-run average as a junior in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
Michigan is one of just seven collegiate programs to have at least one player selected in the first two rounds in each of the last three drafts, with Hajjar joined by Tommy Henry (Arizona Diamondbacks) and Karl Kauffmann (Colorado Rockies), who were selected in the Competitive Balance round in 2019, and Jeff Criswell (Oakland Athletics, second round in 2020).
• Hajjar Selected by Minnesota Twins in Second Round of MLB Draft
