UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Twelve former Penn State baseball players competed for minor league teams this year. Five former Nittany Lions played in Double-A this season and one advanced to Triple-A.
Penn State had four players selected in the 2021 MLB Draft, including Conor Larkin (9th round, 272nd overall, Toronto Blue Jays), Justin Williams (17th round, 508th overall, Houston Astros), Kyle Virbitsky (17th round, 518th overall, Oakland A's) and Bailey Dees (18th round, 543rd overall, New York Yankees).
With Larkin, Virbitsky and Dees all getting drafted, Penn State's entire 2021 starting rotation was selected. Penn State's four players drafted were its most since 2007.
Jack Anderson, P, Mariners
Jack Anderson, a 2016 Penn State graduate, made 36 appearances this season for the Double-A Arkansas Travelers. Anderson tallied six holds and a save and 32K in 51.2 IP. Penn State's all-time saves leader recorded 20 appearances with no earned runs allowed and had a 2.70 ERA in nine appearances in May.
Dante Biasi, P, Royals
Biasi pitched for the High-A Quad Cities River Bandits in 2021. He went 5-2 with a 3.77 ERA and two saves in 24 appearances and six starts. Biasi struck out 84 batters in 71.2 innings. He went 1-0 with a 2.16 ERA in five appearances in June. Biasi also notched a 1.50 ERA in seven outings in July.
Sal Biasi, P, White Sox
Biasi made 21 appearances this year for the High-A Winston-Salem Dash. Biasi struck out 25 in 25.1 innings and earned one hold. He had five straight scoreless appearances in May and 11 scoreless outings on the season.
Bailey Dees, P, Yankees
Dees was selected in the 18th round (543rd overall) in the 2021 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees. Dees appeared in three games, making one start, for the FCL Yankees. He recorded five strikeouts in 2.1 innings. On September 14, Dees pitched a perfect inning, with two strikeouts, in a start.
Justin Hagenman, P, Dodgers
Hagenman, a three-year letterman for the Nittany Lions, pitched in 38 games (two starts) for the Double-A Tulsa Drillers. He posted a 7-4 record, a 3.45 ERA, a hold and six saves. Hagenman threw 62.2 innings and accumulated 77 strikeouts. The New Jersey native collected 23 appearances where he allowed no earned runs. In June, Hagenman went 2-0 with a 1.04 ERA and 18 strikeouts in nine appearances.
Jim Haley, 3B, Rays
Haley, a Nittany Lion from 2014-16, played most of the season for the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits before being called up to the Triple-A Durham Bulls. Haley collected 17 doubles, three triples, 14 homers and 39 RBI during the regular season. Haley finished fifth in the Double-A South league with 18 stolen bases. The Lansdowne, Pa. native registered 14 multi-hit games, seven multi-RBI games and 10 multi-run games. Haley launched six homers in July. In the postseason, Haley helped Montgomery to reach the Double-A South Championship series by hitting .333 with a double, a homer and five RBI.
Conor Larkin, P, Blue Jays
Larkin was selected in the ninth round (272nd overall) of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. Larkin did not pitch in a minor league game this season. As a Nittany Lion, Larkin made 50 appearances (23 starts) with nine wins and 191 strikeouts in 171 innings. As a senior, Larkin earned three wins and struck out 69 batters in 63.2 innings. In 2021, Larkin struck out seven or more batters in six starts in 2021.
Taylor Lehman, P, Phillies
Lehman pitched in five games for the Double-A Reading Fightin' Phils before a season-ending injury. Lehman went 1-0 with a 3.52 ERA in five appearances and three starts. He struck out 20 batters in 15.1 innings. On May 8, Lehman threw three innings, allowing five hits and a run and striking out seven, against Erie. On May 14, Lehman went three innings in another start, with three strikeouts, against Bowie. On June 2, he threw five shutout innings, allowing three hits, and striking out four vs. Somerset.
Eric Mock, P, Indians
Mock spent most of his season pitching for the High-A Lake County Captains but made five appearances for the Double-A Akron Rubberducks. On the season, Mock went 3-3 with two saves and 51 strikeouts in 48.1 innings. In four appearances in June, Mock was 2-0 with a 1.98 ERA and a save. He also went 1-0 and did not allow a run in four appearances in August. On the year, Mock made 14 appearances where he gave up one or less runs.
Ryan Sloniger, C, Blue Jays
Sloniger played for the Low-A Dunedin Blue Jays. He collected nine hits, incuding three doubles and two homers, eight RBI and 15 runs. On May 9, Sloniger homered and scored two runs against Tampa. He also hit a two-run homer and scored four runs against Lakeland on June 12.
Kyle Virbitsky, P, A's
Virbitsky was drafted in the 17th round (518th overall) in the 2021 MLB Draft by the Oakland A's. Virbitsky was immediately assigned to the High-A Lansing Lugnuts. Virbitsky went 1-2 with a 3.38 ERA in seven appearances (three starts) with 22 strikeouts in 16 innings. He threw two shutout innings in his first minor league start, on August 21. He followed that with a 3.1 inning start on September 2 where he allowed only one run. Virbitsky picked up a win on September 18, going 2.1 scoreless innings and striking out six.
Justin Williams, 3B, Astros
Williams was picked in the 17th round (508th overall) in the 2021 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros. Williams played for the Low-A Fayetteville Woodpeckers. Williams collected 27 hits, including seven doubles and five homers while driving in 16 runs and scoring 18. In August, Williams had 19 hits, including three homers, and 14 RBI. The Harrisburg native finished the season with seven multi-hit games, three multi-RBI games and six multi-run games.
