Kubo and Palmer Join the Ranks of the MLB on Final Day of 2019 MLB Draft
6/5/2019 1:56:00 PM | Baseball
2019 marks first time in eight years in which multiple 'Jacks are selected in same draft
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - For the first time in eight years, multiple SFA baseball players have heard their names called in the same MLB Draft.
That came to pass Wednesday afternoon when a pair of right-handed pitchers - junior Alex Palmer and senior Trayson Kubo - were selected in the 20th and 24th rounds respectively of the 2019 MLB Draft.
Palmer was picked up by the Houston Astros while Kubo was chosen by the Oakland Athletics, making them the first SFA duo to be drafted in the same season since Bryson Myles (sixth round, Cleveland Indians) and Chase Wier (21st round, Miami Marlins) got the call in the 2011 MLB Draft.
With the selections of Kubo and Palmer by the two American League clubs early Wednesday afternoon, a total of 21 SFA baseball players have now worked their way up to the ranks of the MLB. Of those 21, 11 have been prepped by Cardenas who completed his 11th season in charge of the 'Jacks this past May.
2019 also marks the third consecutive season in which a Lumberjack has heard his name called in the MLB Draft. Last season, right-handed pitcher Jake Norton was a 32nd round selection by the Miami Marlins while right-handed pitcher Will Vest was chosen in the 12th round by the Detroit Tigers in the 2018 MLB Draft.
Alex Palmer | RHP | Arlington, Texas | 20th Round selection | Houston Astros
A product of Arlington, Texas, Palmer constructed one of the finest single seasons on the hill in program history during 2019. A true strikeout artist, Palmer racked up 109 of them through his team-leading 107 innings of work. That strikeout total ranked as the second-highest in the Southland Conference and the 38th-highest among all NCAA Division I arms. It also made Palmer the only SFA pitcher in program history to record 100 or more strikeouts in a single season and helped him become the program's leader for single-season strikeouts.
"I cannot be more proud of Alex and the work that he has put in this year," stated SFA head coach Johnny Cardenas. "I have been telling anyone that would listen that he is one of the best - not only in our conference, but in the nation. He just knows how to get people out. He deserves his chance to show what he can do and I cannot be more excited that it is with a progressive development team like the Houston Astros."
The final numbers of Palmer's 2019 body of work saw him go 7-6 with a 2.27 ERA. During his final number in an SFA uniform, Palmer racked up 10 strikeouts in a complete game shutout win over Southeastern Louisiana in the opening game of the 2019 Southland Conference Tournament. That complete game effort was his fourth in a row and his fifth overall in 2019 and those five complete games helped Palmer rank fourth nationally in that statistical category.
Palmer also led the Southland Conference and ranked 18th nationally in WHIP (0.94) while his 5.89 hits allowed per nine innings (20th nationally) were also a Southland Conference-best. As a result of his powerful pitching, Palmer laid claim to the title of 2019 Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year and earned a spot on both the All-Southland Conference First Team and the Southland Conference All-Tournament Team.
Trayson Kubo | RHP | Waipahu, Hawaii | 24th Round selection | Oakland Athletics
Through his final season in a Lumberjack uniform, Kubo was a reliable option as both a starter and a reliever. The right-hander put forth a 3-4 record with a 6.05 ERA across 64 innings of work. Of his 19 appearances, 10 of them - including each of his last six - were starts.
Against Southland Conference foes in the regular season, Kubo went 3-2 with an ERA of 4.29 and in five of his last six starts Kubo worked his way through six innings.
On four separate occasions the right-hander racked up six or more strikeouts including a season and SFA career-high 11 during a six-inning outing against eventual 2019 NCAA Tournament participant Army (3/13). In all, Kubo finished the season ranked second on SFA's staff in innings pitched (64) and strikeouts (64).
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