USC's Bates and Nootbaar Selected on Second Day of MLB Draft

LOS ANGELES – USC juniors Solomon Bates and Lars Nootbaar each heard their names called on the second day of the 2018 MLB Draft on Tuesday, with both players going in the eighth round.

Bates was selected by the San Francisco Giants with the second pick (226 overall) of the eighth round and Nootbaar was taken by the St. Louis Cardinals with the 243rd overall pick. The two picks mark the 331st and 332nd times that Trojan players have been selected in the MLB Draft. USC currently boasts the most alums to reach the major leagues with 111.

Bates emerged as one of the most reliable Sunday starters in college baseball by the end of the 2018 season, finishing the year with a 3.14 ERA and 6-3 record after transitioning from the bullpen to the starting rotation midway through the year. He finished the year with four straight starts of at least 7.0 innings pitched and no more than three earned runs given up, including seven scoreless innings in a win over then-No. 2 Oregon State on May 20. The junior righty had a 3.76 strikeout-to-walk ratio, seventh best in the Pac-12, with a team-high 79 strikeouts and 21 walks. Bates' 1.07 WHIP was sixth in the Pac-12 and his 7.22 hits allowed per nine were eighth best.

After sitting out his freshman season, Bates made 18 bullpen appearances and two starts as a sophomore, tossing a total of 36.0 innings. This year he made nine starts in 18 appearances and threw 77.1 innings. For his career, Bates owns a 3.57 ERA, 7-4 record and a total of 110 strikeouts to just 41 walks. Batters hit just .218 against him this past year and .240 for his career. Bates earned All Pac-12 honorable mention this season.

Nootbaar has been a three-year starter for the Trojans, earning All Pac-12 first team honors in 2017 when he hit .313 and drove in 34 runs. The batting average was down this year, but Nootbaar still managed to draw 34 walks and score 33 runs, while hitting six homers as a catalyst near the top of the Trojan batting order.

For his career, Nootbaar owns a slash line of .272/.374/.415, with a total of 37 extra-base hits consisting of 14 homers, 16 doubles and seven triples. Playing in 141 career games and making 135 career starts, he has posted a total of 137 hits, 85 runs scored, 74 RBI and 83 walks. His six triples in 2017 are tied for the seventh most in a single season in USC history. Nootbaar was also a sure-handed glove at both first base and all three outfield spots during his career.

Bates is the first player selected by the Giants since Andrew Triggs in 2011 (did not sign) and this is the second time in the last three years that a USC player has been taken by the Cardinals, with Jeremy Martinez going to St. Louis in the fourth round back in 2016. The MLB Draft wraps up tomorrow with rounds 11-40 starting at 9 a.m. Pacific time. You can follow all the action at MLB.com.

Players Mentioned

Solomon Bates

Lars Nootbaar