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06/18/2008 8:26 PM ET
Rockies agree to terms with Freidrich
Deal pending physical; 21 of 50 Draft selections now signed
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DENVER -- The Colorado Rockies announced this afternoon that the club has agreed to terms with left-handed pitcher Christian Friedrich, the club's first round selection in Major League Baseball's 2008 First-Year Player Draft. The agreement with the 25th overall pick is pending the completion of a physical.
The Rockies have now agreed to terms with six of their top 10 selections and 11 of their top 18 picks in this year's Draft. Additionally, the club has signed second baseman Maikol Gonzalez (35th round). Overall, 21 of the club's 50 selections have been signed.
Friedrich, the 2008 Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year, went 5-1 with a 1.43 ERA (81.2 ip, 13 er) in 12 starts for the Colonels in his junior season this year. The lefty ranked 2nd in the nation in ERA, 2nd in hits allowed per nine innings (4.41) and 8th in strikeouts per nine innings (11.90) in 2008. He led the OVC in ERA, strikeouts (108) and opponents' batting average (.144).
Friedrich is the first Eastern Kentucky University baseball player ever to be drafted in the first round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft. Additionally, he is only the second player in OVC history to be drafted in the first round of the MLB draft, joining fellow left-handed pitcher Drew Hall of Morehead State, who was taken by the Chicago Cubs with the third overall pick in 1984.
Friedrich pitched all three seasons of his college career at EKU. He is the all-time career strikeouts leader at EKU with 327, and as a freshman in 2006, he pitched the fifth no-hitter in school history. Friedrich was a 2008 Baseball America preseason first-team All-American selection, while being tabbed by the same publication as the 6th-best prospect in college baseball before the season began. Friedrich is also a 2008 Golden Spikes Award finalist.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Friedrich was named Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week on three occasions this year, and five times in his career. Last summer, he went 4-1 with a 2.68 ERA in seven starts for the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod League, notching 52 strikeouts in only 37.0 innings.
The Evanston, Ill. native attended Lakeside High School, where he was named one of the top pitchers in the state when he was selected by the IHSBCA as a member of the 2005 'Cream of the Crop.' He went 8-3 with a 1.73 ERA and 105 strikeouts as a senior and set a school record by striking out 18 batters in a 7.0-inning regional final game in 2004.
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