Diamondbacks Draft PC’s Jeter In 25th Round

CLINTON, S.C. (PC SID) — Presbyterian College righthanded pitcher Bud Jeter was selected on the third day of Major League Baseball First-Year Players Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks, the team announced Saturday afternoon. Jeter, a 6‘ 3″, 205 pound rising senior from Dreher High School, becomes the sixth Blue Hose drafted in the modern era and the first since Tampa Bay selected Matt Martunas with an 18th-round pick in 2000. Arizona selected Jeter in the 25th round with the 750th overall pick in the draft. The Diamondbacks also drafted incoming freshman Brad Keller on Friday with the team‘s ninth pick of the draft in the eighth round. Jeter delivered a stellar junior season in 2013, shattering previous career-bests in earned run average (2.89), strikeouts (84), opponent batting average (.254) and innings pitched (106.0) while tying a career-high with five wins. Jeter led the Big South Conference in complete games (seven, out of 14 starts) and ranked third in the league in overall strikeouts and innings pitched. He finished the season ranked 10th in ERA in the Big South, who chose him as its The Crons Brand Pitcher of the Week on March 4. Jeter earned the honor for a dominating performance over High Point in which he struck out a career-high 13 Panthers while only allowing one run in a complete game, no-walk win. In 2013, the righthander limited opponents to one earned run in seven of 14 starts and pitched at least seven innings in nine appearances. Notable performances included a one-earned run complete game win over Furman on March 30 and a four-hit, complete game hard-luck loss against eventual NCAA Tournament team Coastal Carolina on April 27. Jeter also went the distance to capture wins over Savannah State, Winthrop and UNC Asheville. Jeter‘s 2.5 strikeout/walk ratio ranked second among Blue Hose pitchers, as did his .246 opponent batting average with the bases empty. The junior also led the squad in double plays created, with seven, inducing nearly a third of the team‘s 23 twin killings in 2013. In PC‘s modern era single-season history (since 1988), Jeter‘s 2013 season ranked fourth in innings pitched and strikeouts and fifth in complete games.