E.J. Laratta Taken in 26th Round by Padres – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 5, 2002
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State righthanded pitcher E.J. Laratta (Sr., Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek) was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 26th round (775th pick) of Baseball’s First-Year Player Draft on Wednesday.
The senior finished second in school history with 34 career wins and 379 2/3 career innings pitched. He was also ninth in Buckeye history with 234 career strikeouts and had the eighth fewest walks given a minimum of 175 innings pitched. He finished with an overall record of 34-15 after going 8-4 his senior season. He had 52 strikeouts in 88 1/3 innings. He had five complete games this past season to up his career total to 19. His 15 starts in 2002 tied the school’s season record.
Laratta was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 1999 as well as a first team All-Big Ten selection. He was 10-3 that year with a 3.77 ERA. He went 7-5 with a 4.96 ERA as a sophomore and garnered second team All-Big Ten honors, 9-3 with a 4.08 ERA as a junior as a first-team All-Big Ten selection, in addition to his 8-4 campaign as a senior. He finished the season with a 4.99 ERA and his career with a 4.46 ERA. His nine inning complete game victory over Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament this season earned him a spot on the all-tournament team.
“I am looking forward to the opportunity to move up a level and prove I can win there as well,” Laratta said. “People told me that I couldn’t win in college and I did. I just want to prove that I can win in the pros.”
Laratta became the third Buckeye taken in this year’s draft, joining Nick Swisher (Jr., Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg), who was drafted as the 16th overall pick by Oakland, and Doug Deeds (So., Bexley, Ohio/Bexley), who was selected in the ninth round by the Minnesota Twins.
The two-day, 50-round draft concludes Wednesday at 6 p.m. in New York, N.Y.
