FRESNO - Fresno State junior left-handed pitcher Ricky Tyler Thomas was selected in the 7th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday afternoon.Thomas extends Fresno State streak of players drafted into major league baseball at 41 consecutive years as the last time the 'Dogs did not have a player drafted was 1976.
A two-time First-Team All- Mountain West selection, Thomas becomes the 17th player under head coach Mike Batesole to be selected in the first seven rounds of the draft and becomes the 11th player in program history selected by the historic franchise.
Thomas put together another strong season on the mound for the 'Dogs posting an 8-4 mark as the southpaw made 17 appearances, including 15 starts. The San Diego native finished second in the Mountain West in strikeouts (100), opposing batting average (.245) and wins (8) while ranking fifth in innings pitched (90.2) and sixth in ERA (4.86).
After a slow start to the conference season, Thomas came on strong down the stretch winning his final five Mountain West starts as the junior led the Mountain West in opposing batting average (.232), finished second in wins (6) & ERA (3.86) and third in strikeouts (51) & runs allowed (26) in conference games. A two-time Mountain West Pitcher of the Week honoree in 2017, Thomas had five MW starts with six or more strikeouts and had a pair of standout starts in wins over San Jose State (April 29) and San Diego State (May 18).
He wrapped up the season with a stellar performance at the Mountain West Tournament tossing eight innings in an 11-5 win over New Mexico in an elimination game as he held the Lobos to seven hits, five runs and struck out six while throwing 119 pitches.
A three-year Bulldog, Thomas wraps up his Fresno State career with 21 wins and 243 strikeouts in 236.0 innings pitched. He posted 14 career games with eight-plus strikeouts and had 24 career starts where he allowed two earned runs or less.
In December of 2016, he was named the winner of the Richard W. "Dick" Case Award by USA Baseball which is given annually to USA Baseball's top player in honor of the organization's founding Executive Director and CEO.
Thomas' Career Statistics
2015: 15 app., 7 GS, 4-3, 3.92 ERA, 41.1 IP, 35 K
2016: 15 app., 15 GS, 9-4, 2.16 ERA, 104.0 IP, 108 K
2017: 17 app., 15 GS, 8-4, 4.86 ERA, 90.2 IP, 100 K
TOTAL: 47 app., 37 GS, 21-11, 3.51 ERA. 236.0 IP, 243 K
Thomas' Career Accolades
- 2016 First-Team All-Mountain West Selection
- 2016 USA Baseball's Richard W. "Dick" Case Award Recipient
- 2017 First-Team All-Mountain West Selection
Fresno State players drafted by the Chicago Cubs
1978: Mark Lohuis, RHP 11th Round*
1985: Bob Bafia, 3B, 8th Round
1987: Derek Stroud, LHP, 22nd Round
1988: John Salles, RHP, 5th Round
1990: J.P. Postiff, 3B, 33rd Round
1992: Brant Brown, 1B, 3rd Round
1997: Brad Tucker, RHP, 37th Round*
2003: Casey McGehee, 3B, 10th Round
2010: Danny Muno, 2B, 26th Round*
2014: Jordan Brink, RHP, 11th Round
2017: Ricky Tyler Thomas, LHP, 7th Round
* did not sign
