June 10, 2009

ST. LOUIS - The Toronto Blue Jays selected Saint Louis right-handed pitcher Zach Outman in the 28th round (850th overall) of the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft today.

Combined with the selection of Dave Sever by Toronto earlier today, the Billikens have at least two picks in the MLB Draft for the second year in a row. Sever and Casey Moore were taken in last year's MLB Draft, marking the first time in school history two Billikens were chosen in the same draft. The 2009 draft continues tomorrow with selections for the final 20 rounds beginning at 10:30 a.m. (CT).

Outman, whose brother Josh is a pitcher for the Oakland Athletics, joined the Billikens after a season at St. Louis Community College-Forest Park. Outman has started 21 games in his SLU career, posting five victories and a 5.77 ERA. He tied for ninth in the Atlantic 10 Conference this season with 64 strikeouts, bringing his two-year SLU total to 109.

In his final start this season, Outman twirled a complete-game shutout against Southern Illinois, scattering six hits and fanning eight Salukis. For his effort, he garnered Atlantic 10 Conference Pitcher of the Week accolades May 18. Other quality outings included a scoreless 1-1/3 innings of relief to earn a save in a key win at league foe George Washington, and a six-inning effort against Northern Illinois in which he struck out a career-high nine batters.

Outman is the sixth Billiken to be drafted this decade and, along with Sever, is part of a recent trend of Billiken pitchers catching the eye of Toronto scouts. Ryan Bird, SLU's all-time career strikeouts leader, was signed by the Blue Jays as a free agent in 2007.