Butler native Nick Patten was selected in the 28th round of the draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Patten hit 35 home runs over three seasons at the University of Delaware. Slippery Rock University senior pitcher Alex Pantuso was selected by the Oakland Athletics during the 2018 Major League Baseball first-year player draft on Wednesday. Pantuso was selected in the 31st round. The A’s organization is no stranger to pitching prospects from Slippery Rock, Oakland drafted former SRU standout reliever Lou Trivino, who made his major league debut earlier this season, in the 11th round of the 2013 draft.
Pantuso made 43 appearances over his collegiate career, winning 16 games, while recording a school record 267 strikeouts over 211 innings. He is the 12th winningest pitcher in Rock program history.
(Trivino has made 20 appearances for the A’s this season, and has a 1.93 ERA. He has 25 strikeouts in 23 innings as a reliever.)