D3baseball.com's Pitcher of the Year, Josh Fleming, had his name called in the fifth round of the MLB draft as the first D-III player taken in the 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Austin Filiere was an eighth round pick of the Chicago Cubs and Tanner Nishioka was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the ninth round as the second day of the three day event concluded with the completion of the tenth round.
Josh Fleming, LHP, Webster
Tampa Bay Rays, 5th round, No. 144 overall
Ht.: 6-2. Wt.: 190.
Bats: Right. Throws: Left.
Hometown: Columbia, Ill.
Webster pitcher Josh Fleming had his name called in the fifth round of the 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft, when he was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays on June 13. Fleming was the 139th pick overall in the draft.
Fleming was on solid footing entering the 2017 season, but an NCAA III-leading earned run average of 0.68, 115 strikeouts (second in Division III) in 92 2/3 innings, and an 8-1 record made his stock soar higher.
He is the first player on a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team to be drafted by the MLB in 19 years, and only the second SLIAC baseball player to ever be drafted. At Webster, he is a junior studying business administration in the George Herbert Walker School of Business & Technology.
