Orioles Get 14-3 Louisiana Pitcher in Baseball Draft

Ben McDonald, who went 14-3 for Louisiana State this year and began the season by pitching 44 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings, was chosen by the Baltimore Orioles today as the first pick in the amateur baseball draft.

Pitchers from Saugus (Calif.) High School and Cal State Long Beach were included as third and ninth draft picks.

“In college, Ben throws 70% fastballs and challenges all of the hitters,” LSU Coach Skip Bertman said. “When he gets into pro ball, when he can pitch more, use all of his pitches, he’ll be even more effective.”

McDonald, a 6-foot, 7-inch right-hander, could be with the Orioles by the end of the season. He has struck out 194 in 148 1/3 innings and has a 2.91 earned-run average.

“The pressure on Ben has been tremendous,” Bertman said. “There was an ESPN camera right in the bullpen when he was warming up. He has been hounded for a month. He had to disconnect his telephone. That drains you.”

Tyler Houston, a strong-armed catcher from Valley High in Las Vegas, was taken second by the Atlanta Braves. In 87 at-bats, he hit .563 with 12 homers and 57 RBIs.

The Seattle Mariners then took Roger Salkeld, a right-handed pitcher from Saugus (Calif.) High School. The 6-foot, 5-inch, 205-pound Salkeld posted a 10-0 record this year with a 0.65 earned run average. He struck out 140 batters in 82 innings.

Philadelphia, with the fourth pick, took Jeff Jackson, an outfielder from Simeon High in Chicago. He hit .493 in 71 at-bats with 12 homers, 51 RBIs and 30 stolen bases.

Texas, picking fifth, selected Don Harris, an outfielder from Texas Tech and the first big surprise of the draft.

St. Louis then took Paul Coleman, an outfielder from Frankston (Tex.) High.

Frank Thomas, a first baseman from Auburn, went to the Chicago White Sox with the seventh pick.

“He’s strong, with outstanding power and not that bad defensively,” White Sox scouting director Al Goldis said of Thomas. “He does need to lose weight, though.”

The Chicago Cubs, picking eighth, took Earl Cunningham, an outfielder from Lancaster (S.C.) High. Through his first 65 at-bats this season, Cunningham was batting .446 with 11 homers and 25 runs batted in.

Kyle Abbott, a left-hander from Cal State Long Beach, was taken by the Angels with the ninth pick, and Charles Johnson, a catcher from Westwood High School in Ft. Pierce, Fla., was the 10th pick, selected by the Montreal Expos.

Only the first round of the three-day draft is made public immediately. Teams are fearful that colleges will use the draft as recruiting lists, so they don’t release the complete list for about two weeks.

The Los Angeles Dodgers had four picks in the first two rounds. In addition to their own picks (22nd and 48th), they had the 15th pick from the New York Yankees as compensation for Steve Sax and the 37th pick from Cleveland as compensation for Jesse Orosco.

The Yankees, because of free-agent signings, did not have a first-round pick for the fifth consecutive season and the 10th time in 11 years.

Boston, in addition to its own pick (23rd), had San Diego’s choice (16th) as compensation for Bruce Hurst. Seattle picked third and got Oakland’s pick (26th) as compensation for Mike Moore.