UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Redshirt junior pitcher Eric Mock (Shillington, Pa.) and senior catcher Ryan Sloniger (Punxsutawney, Pa.) became the second and third Nittany Lions tabbed in the 2019 Major League Baseball Entry Draft Wednesday afternoon, resulting in Penn State's largest draft class since 2012.
Mock was taken in the 25th round with the 760th pick overall by the Cleveland Indians, while Sloniger was taken in the 38th round with the 1,137th pick overall by the Toronto Blue Jays. The pair joined fellow Nittany Lion Dante Biasi (Hazleton, Pa.), who was drafted by the Kansas City Royals, Tuesday in the sixth round with the 169th pick overall.
Penn State last had three selections in 2012 when Joe Kurrasch (Giants, 8th round), Jordan Steranka (Pirates, 21st round) and John Walter (Royals, 29th round) were all drafted.
Biasi, Mock and Sloniger are the 12th, 13th and 14th players, respectively, to be drafted during Rob Cooper's career as a head coach, and the fifth, sixth and seventh in his six-year tenure at Penn State. Those seven have all been selected in the last four drafts, with this year's representing his largest class.
Additionally, two incoming Penn State signees heard their names called Wednesday. Braden Halladay (Odessa, Fla.) was tabbed in the 32nd round by the Blue Jays, as they honored his late, Hall of Fame father, Roy Halladay, who wore jersey No. 32 in Toronto. Tanner Cooper (Canandaigua, N.Y.), who is slated to transfer to Penn State from Finger Lakes Community College, was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 37th round.
Eric Mock
Mock is the fifth Penn State pitcher to be drafted in the past four years, joining Biasi, Dodgers' 2018 selection Justin Hagenman (23rd round), Royals' 2017 selection Sal Biasi (11th round) – Dante's older brother – and Mariners' 2016 selection Jack Anderson (23rd round). Before Anderson's selection in 2016, just two Penn State pitchers were taken in the previous six years: Kurrasch and Walter.
"We are extremely proud and excited for Eric and his family," said Cooper. "He is a true Nittany Lion and put in a ton of hard work. The Indians are getting a super-competitive, winning pitcher who will continue to work hard and do well. We wish him nothing but the best."
Mock has made 24 starts in 42 appearances, breaking out this past season as a weekend starter. In 2019, Mock posted a 3.93 ERA in 66.1 innings pitched, striking out 77. He allowed just two earned runs or less in eight out of his 12 starts and held opponents without a run in four starts that each lasted at least five innings. Early in the season, Mock finished one out shy of a complete game against Fairfield and also blanked then-No. 21 Duke over six innings, allowing just two hits and a walk. In his final two Big Ten starts of the year, he shutout both Rutgers and Ohio State over a combined 11 innings. At the conclusion of the regular season, Mock ranked seventh in the Big Ten with 10.45 strikeouts per nine innings and 10th with 7.46 hits allowed per nine innings.
Mock becomes the fourth Nittany Lion to be drafted by the Indians and the first since Keith Bevenour was taken in the 40th round in 1988.
Ryan Sloniger
Sloniger became the seventh catcher drafted in Penn State history and the first since Ben Heath was a fifth-round draft pick by the Houston Astros in 2010. He is also the sixth Nittany Lion to be drafted by the Blue Jays and the first since Sean Stidfole was tabbed in the 14th round in 2005.
"We are so excited for Ryan and his family." said Cooper. "Ryan has worked very hard to accomplish his goal of playing professional baseball. The Blue Jays are getting a good one."
A four-year starter behind the plate, Sloniger made 162 starts in 166 games, and ranks fourth all-time at Penn State in career putouts with 1,080. He broke out as a junior in 2018, leading the team in batting (306), RBIs (31), home runs (5), on-base percentage (.404) and slugging percentage (.494). He totaled 30 doubles, five triples, nine home runs and 81 RBIs for his career, while batting .246. He recently graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism.
Dante Biasi
Biasi was selected by the Kansas City Royals early in the sixth round Tuesday with the 169th overall pick, also becoming the highest-selected left-handed pitcher in Penn State history (Jim Farr; 1974 – 200th overall, 9th round, Chicago White Sox), the highest-selected Nittany Lion pitcher overall since 2008 (Drew O'Neill; 120th overall, 4th round, Chicago White Sox) and the highest-selected Nittany Lion overall since 2010 (Ben Heath; 153rd overall, 5th round, Houston Astros).
"We are so happy for Dante and his family!" said Cooper. "He has worked so hard and truly deserves this opportunity. The Royals are getting a tough-minded, winning pitcher who loves to compete."
The leader of Penn State's starting rotation last season, Biasi was voted to the 2019 All-Big Ten Second Team by the conference's coaches, marking Penn State's first All-Big Ten selection since his older brother, Sal, received the same honor in 2017. The brothers will not be reunited in the Royals organization though, as Sal is now in the Mariners organization.
Biasi posted a 2.55 earned run average with 102 strikeouts in 74.0 innings over 14 starts. His 6.32 hits allowed per nine innings were the fewest in the conference, his ERA ranked fourth in the Big Ten, and he was one of the top strikeout pitchers during the regular season, ranking second in the Big Ten, 33rd nationally and fifth in a single-season in Penn State history. His 12.41 strikeouts per inning also ranked second in the Big Ten.
The lefty held opponents to one earned run or less in nine of his first 10 starts and he was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on Apr. 8 after leading a combined shutout of eventual 2019 Big Ten Champion Indiana, blanking the Hoosiers in Bloomington for 6.1 innings as he struck out nine and yielded just two hits and a walk. Biasi struck out 25 batters over a two-week period in March, racking up a career-high 13 against UMass Lowell and then 12 the following week against Minnesota. His 13 strikeouts in a game were the most by a Penn State pitcher since 2005, and the 25 total in back-to-back outings were the most at Penn State since at least 2004.
Biasi was originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 22nd round of the 2016 MLB Draft, but elected to attend Penn State. The Nittany Lions have now had 58 student-athletes selected in the MLB Draft since its inception in 1965.
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