COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State senior captain Zach Dezenzo was selected in the 12th round of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros on Tuesday.
Dezenzo was the 373rd overall pick in this year’s draft and he’s the program’s 112th all-time draftee. He is the fifth Buckeye taken by the Astros, joining Roy Marsh in 1994, J.B. Shuck in 2008 and then Pat Porer and Ronnie Dawson who were taken in back-to-back years in 2015 and 2016.
The Alliance, Ohio native had a tremendous season this past year. He hit a career-high .319 and tied the OSU single-season home run record with 19. His 66 hits were one-shy of the team lead as he also led the team with 54 runs scored, 18 doubles, two triples, and 54 runs batted in. He slugged .700 and had a .413 on-base percentage. Dezenzo started the season with elbow soreness and moved over to first base. It was no coincidence that when he moved back to shortstop at the end of April, the team started playing its best ball of the season, averaging over eight runs per game over the final 15 games. He was a second team All-Big Ten honoree this past season.
For his career, he hit .281 over 165 games. His 38 career home runs are third-most in program history and his 42 doubles are tied with Nick Swisher and three others for 20th on the career charts. Dezenzo was a four-year letterwinner and served as a team captain this past season.
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