ECAUCUS, N.J. – Oklahoma State had two players selected Wednesday on the final day of the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Outfielder Dusty Harvard was taken in the 34th round by the Chicago White Sox, while infielder Tom Belza was a 43rd-round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
With Wednesday’s selections, the Cowboys’ 2010 draft total reached seven. OSU has had at least seven MLB draft picks in each of the last five years and is averaging eight draftees per year during that span.
Harvard, who completed his OSU career in May, was drafted for the second time. He was a 28th-round pick of San Francisco in the 2006 draft after graduating from Natrona County High School in Casper, Wyoming.
As a senior for the Cowboys last season, Harvard hit .289 with four home runs and 27 RBIs. The speedy center fielder also ranked second on the club with 14 stolen bases and did not commit an error in 51 games in the outfield.
In four seasons in Stillwater, Harvard appeared in 151 games and hit .265 with 19 stolen bases. He committed just one error in the outfield, resulting in a .995 career fielding percentage.
Belza became a first-time draftee when he was chosen in the 43rd round by Arizona.
A native of Loveland, Ohio, who was a junior for the Cowboys in 2010, Belza has enjoyed three productive seasons in an OSU uniform. In 163 career games, the left-handed hitter has compiled a .346 batting average to go along with 113 RBIs. He’s racked up 211 hits and led the Pokes in hitting as a freshman and a sophomore.
Belza is coming off a season in which he started every game at shortstop for OSU and hit .316 with three homers and 27 RBIs. He ended the season on a 10-game hitting streak.
2010 OSU Major League Baseball Draftees 9th round - Tyler Lyons, LHP, St. Louis Cardinals (289th overall) 13th round – Davis Duren, Houston Astros(393rd overall) 18th round - Thomas Keeling, LHP, Milwaukee Brewers(549th overall) 19th round - Kevin David, C, Kansas City Royals (569th overall) 22nd round – Mike Strong, LHP, Oakland Athletics (665th overall) 34th round – Dusty Harvard, Chicago White Sox (1,028th overall) 43rd round – Tom Belza, Arizona Diamondbacks (1,291st overall)
— Todd Vencill Jun 12, 10:56 AM #