COLUMBUS, Ohio – Junior centerfielder/pitcher J.B. Shuck was chosen Thursday in the sixth round of the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft by the Houston Astros. The left-hander from Galion, Ohio and Galion High School was the Astros’ fifth choice in the draft and he was the 182nd player taken overall. The first six rounds of the draft were completed Thursday. 

“I got the phone call about 9:45 p.m. last night,” Shuck said Friday, “about two minutes before I saw my name pop up on the internet. I was home in Galion with my family. I was getting pretty nervous toward the end of the night, but it sure was a relief when the call came. It got wild when the call did come through and it was very exciting.”

Shuck, 5-11 and 185 pounds, is coming off a fine junior season in which he was chosen third-team all-Big Ten Conference as both an outfielder and a pitcher. He led the Ohio State pitching staff with 76 strikeouts and an opponents’ batting average of .216 while posting a 5-3 record and a 4.29 ERA.

Offensively, Shuck was second on the team with a .356 average and he led with 47 runs scored and 22 stolen bases (26 attempts).

“A gritty baseball player,” is how Shuck was described by new Astros scouting director Bobby Heck in an article on the Houston Chronicle’s web site.

Shuck, the seventh Big Ten Conference player selected in the draft, is the 18th Buckeye since 1994 to be drafted in the top 10 rounds. The list of Ohio State players that have been drafted in the top 10 rounds since 1990 include:

Year  Rnd.  Buckeye            Team
2002  1st   Nick Swisher       Oakland A’s
2007  *1st  Cory Luebke        San Diego Padres
2006  2nd   Ronnie Bourquin    Detroit Tigers
1991  2nd   Mike Durant        Minnesota Twins
2004  3rd   Scott Lewis        Cleveland Indians
1991  3rd   Blasé sparma       Atlanta Braves
1994  4th   Matt Beaumont      California Angels
1992  5th   Scott Klingenbeck  Baltimore Orioles
1992  5th   Jamie Taylor       Cleveland Indians
1991  5th   Tim Smith          Oakland A’s
2008  6th   J.B. Shuck         Houston Astros
2003  6th   Christian Snavely  Toronto Blue Jays
2007  7th   Matt Angle         Baltimore Orioles
2003  7th   Matt Davis         Cleveland Indians
2006  8th   Jedidiah Stephen   Baltimore Orioles
1998  8th   Mike Kremblas      Toronto Blue Jays
2007  9th   Eric Fryer         Milwaukee Brewers
2002  9th   Doug Deeds         Minnesota Twins
*Supplemental selection

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