Cal State Fullerton center fielder/closer Michael Lorenzen was selected as the 38th overall pick in the Compensation A Round by the Cincinnati Reds.  In addition to garnering three consecutive All-American nods in three years at Cal State Fullerton, Lorenzen has earned back-to-back Big West First Team accolades, and was recently named one of five finalists for the ninth annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award.

In 22 appearances this year, Lorenzen has tossed 22.2 innings, striking out 20 and managing a 1.99 earned run average while holding opposing batters to a .205 clip. Entering this weekend’s Super Regional against UCLA, Lorenzen has totaled 35 saves in just two years on the mound, breaking the all-time Fullerton record in last weekend’s 1-0 shutout win over Arizona State in game two of the Fullerton Regional.  

At the plate, Lorenzen is batting .335 with a team-leading 53 RBI while managing a .523 slugging percentage, with 40 runs scored, 73 hits, 12 doubles, four triples and a team-leading seven home runs.

Lorenzen was closely followed by UC Irvine’s Andrew Thurman, who was nabbed by the Houston Astros as the 40th overall pick and first selection of the second round.  He becomes the Anteaters’ highest draft pick since the program was reinstated in 2001-02, topping Brett Smith who was chosen 42nd by the New York Yankees in 2004.  Over the course of the 2013 season, he tossed three complete games while posting a 3.23 ERA in 100.1 innings of work.  He struck out 91 batters en route to a 6-4 record.


In three seasons Thurman has registered a career record of 18-10 on the mound and is 12th in the UCI career annals with a .642 win percentage. He fanned 224 batters to climb into eighth in the career record books and with a career ERA of 3.19 is 13th-best among UCI’s all-time leaders.

Day two of the 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Draft is scheduled for Friday, June 7 starting at 10:00 a.m. (Pacific).