Tucson, Ariz. (June 5) -- University of Arizona baseball player Ben Diggins was
selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers with the 17th pick of the first round of the
Major League Baseball draft on June 5. Dave Abbott and Keoni DeRenne were also selected in the
later rounds of the draft.
As a pitcher and designated hitter with the Wildcats last season, Diggins
was a first team All-America selection by Baseball Weekly and a Smith Award
semi-finalist, an honor that is given to the nation's top player. As a pitcher,
he went 10-4 with a 3.83 ERA and had 127 strikeouts in 112.2 innings
pitched. He became the first Wildcat pitcher to win 10 games since Scott
Erickson did it in 1989 and allowed just 24 extra base hits in 427 at bats.
As the UA's starting designated hitter, he batted .336 and had nine home
runs and 34 RBI. He was second on the team in on-base percentage.
In two years at Arizona, he ranks 19th on the school's all-time pitching
list for career strikeouts with 218 and is 11th with 9.65 strikeouts per
nine innings. He went 18-10 during his career with an ERA of 5.22 and
pitched five complete games.
Abbott, a right handed senior pitcher from Tucson's Sabino High School,
was taken in the eighth round by the Toronto Blue Jays and DeRenne, a
junior shortstop from Honolulu, Hawaii, was tabbed by the Atlanta Braves in
the 12th round.
Abbott redshirted the 2000 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on
April 20, 1999. Leading up to that injury, he posted a 3-0 record in seven
games during the 1999 season, struck out 17 batters and had an ERA of 3.04.
As for DeRenne, he was an All-Pac-10 first team selection last season
after hitting .362 and starting in every game he played (53). He was second on
the team in hits with 72 and had 44 RBI. He also had seven homeruns, 12
doubles and is projected as a second baseman at the major league level.
