Schlick selected in 39th round by White Sox

Schlick selected in 39th round by White Sox
Levi Schlick became the latest in a line of Barton Community College baseball players selected in Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft. Schlick, a freshman for the Cougars last season, was picked on day three of the 3-day draft, going in the 39th round to the Chicago White Sox. Schlick will continue pitching for the Hays Lark this summer before a decision will be made on his future.

Schlick was outstanding this past year for the Cougars as the freshman from Colby posted a 2.11 ERA on his way to a 5-4 record in 11 starts. Schlick completed three games and struck out 77 batters in 64 innings of work. The 6-7 lefty walked 32 and limited opponents to a microscopic .194 batting average. He allowed just 10 extra base hits – 9 doubles and a homer.

"Levi has what we call a tremendous upside," Barton Coach Mike Warren said. "Being 6-7 and lefthanded is a big advantage for a pitcher. I think major league scouts saw the same thing I did when I recruited him and can see him pitching in the big leagues, barring injury, in the future."

If Schlick doesn't go into the White Sox organization, he will pitch for Kansas State University next season after just one season at Barton.

"Levi was the first freshman I've had in a while that was good enough to be able to transfer and make an impact at a Division I school right away," Warren said. "He signed at K-State after receiving offers from Texas A&M and Nebraska as well."

Schlick will throw with the Larks thru July before a decision will be made on what is future is. At that time the White Sox may make him an offer which he will have to make a decision on.

"The White Sox won't try to sign Levi right away and they will watch his improvement this summer while pitching for the Hays Larks. If he continues to improve they may try to sign him sometime at the end of July," Warren said. "Levi has the best of both worlds, if they (White Sox) make him an offer and it's not what he wants, he can go to K-State for two years and he'll probably go higher in the draft at that time after his junior year, which is the next time he'll be eligible for the draft.  He could have come back here and been draft eligible next year, but he is an outstanding student and will have no trouble at the four year level."

After a successful high school season, Schlick was named a 2nd team All Jayhawk West pitcher this season, just missing out on 1st team honors. By year's end, he was one of the top pitchers in the Jayhawk Conference. During a 3-game stretch late in the season he went 3-0 with a combined 8 hits and 2 runs – 1 earned. He spent much of the season with an ERA under 2.00, evening challenging Steve Sawyer for the lowest ERA by a starter at 1.24 back in 1980. Only his last 2 starts moved it up over the 2.00 mark.

"Levi was throwing 78-79 mph last year in the state high school tourney but he worked hard in our program and was throwing 87-89 and topping out at 91 this spring," Coach Warren said. "His work ethic is off the charts and he'll be successful no matter what he decides to do.

Notes
He could join former Steve Edlefsen in minor league baseball if he chooses to go that route. Edlefsen is currently pitching in the San Francisco Giants organization at AAA Fresno. So far this season Edlefsen has appeared in 21 games out of the Grizzlies bullpen, posting a 1.23 ERA. He has posted 4 saves – 3 in his last 3 outings. Edlefsen also has 4 holds this season. He has struck out 29 and walked just 12 in 36 innings of work. Opponents are hitting just .222 against him this year.

He is the only former Cougar currently active in the minors for the Cougars. Jeff Christy is playing in Wichita for the Wingnuts of the Independent League. Christy has spent the past few seasons catching in the Minnesota Twins organization spending much of his time at the AAA and AA level the past two seasons. Christy is hitting .344 in 19 games this season at Wichita. He has 1 homer and 12 RBI.

Jason Stanford, who threw for Barton in the late '90's and was the 2nd Cougar ever to reach the big leagues when he pitched for the Indians in 2003, is rehabbing a shoulder injury with hopes of one more shot at the big leagues. Chad Lee retired from the Oakland A's organization this past week after fighting injuries since he was drafted in the 4th round in 2006 after his sophomore year at Barton – the same year Christy was drafted in the 6th round out of the University of Nebraska.