Minnesota Twins draft Hoosier trio

The Minnesota Twins drafted IU starting pitcher Aaron Slegers in the fifth round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft Friday, selecting him with pick No. 140.

Three rounds later, they took junior third baseman Dustin DeMuth with pick No. 230. And in the 26th round, the Twins took the third Hoosier who was expected to be drafted, junior closer Ryan Halstead, using pick No. 770 on IU’s all-time saves leader.

“Congrats to my roommate, teammate and future teammate @_doubled16 for being selected in the 8th round by the twins!” Slegers tweeted after DeMuth’s selection.

All three players are roommates in Bloomington.

It is the sixth consecutive season IU has had multiple players taken in the MLB Draft.

Slegers, this year’s Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, will be eligible to go to the Twins after the season if he chooses, as he is a third-year sophomore.

Slegers led the Big Ten with a 1.94 ERA and tied with junior teammate Joey DeNato for the most wins in the conference with nine.

In 101 innings pitched during Slegers’ time at IU, he has allowed one home run and 101 hits, striking out 58 and walking 17, as of Saturday evening.

This was Slegers’ first year as a starter for IU. In 2011, he pitched one inning before being sidelined with a forearm injury. He made five relief appearances last season. This year, he has started all 16 games he has appeared in, earning a 9-1 record.

The Twins took pitchers in four of the five first rounds. Two of those are high school seniors, including the No. 4 overall pick, Kohl Stewart, who is also a Texas A&M quarterback prospect.

DeMuth was the third position player to be drafted by the Twins in the first
eight rounds.

After earning Freshman All-American honors his freshman season in 2011 with a .360 average, DeMuth was named a Third Team All-American this year with a .396 average, second best in the Big Ten.

The LaPorte, Ind., native also leads the conference in doubles, is second in hits and stands third in slugging percentage, on-base percentage and total bases.

Halstead saved 11 games for the Hoosiers this season, a new IU record, and eclipsed the mark for most career saves, earning 22. The California native carries a 3.64 ERA in 70 career appearances for the Hoosiers as of Saturday evening. This year has been his most productive, as he tallied a 2.43 ERA and struck out 45 batters. In his first two years, he struck out a combined 46 hitters.