Long Beach State University Athletics
Mathewson, Jacobsen Selected on Final Day of MLB Draft
6/11/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Long Beach, Calif. - There were two more Dirtbags selected on the final day of the 2016 MLB Draft, with a pair of sophomore pitchers getting the call from big league clubs on Saturday. RHP Chris Mathewson was picked in the 19th round (581st overall) by the Los Angeles Dodgers and LHP Lucas Jacobsen was chosen by the Texas Rangers in the 27th round (819th overall). That brings the total of LBSU players taken in this year's draft to four, with SS Garrett Hampson (3rd round) and RHP Austin McGeorge (7th round) getting selected on Friday.
Mathewson, a draft-eligible sophomore, was drafted for the second time. He was a 28th round selection of the Rangers in the 2014 draft, coming out of Kaiser High School. Mathewson was the 2015 Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year, posting a 1.94 ERA in his first season at Long Beach State. After working back from injury prior to his sophomore season, Mathewson was 8-5 with a 3.62 ERA as the primary Friday night starter for the Dirtbags. He racked up 107 strikeouts in 104.1 innings pitched this season, ranking him second in the Big West.
Jacobsen is a redshirt sophomore who just completed his first season at Long Beach State after transferring from Santa Barbara City College. The lefthander reliever made 23 appearances out of the Dirtbags bullpen, and also made one start in a Tuesday night game at LMU. Jacobsen worked 30 innings with a 3.30 ERA, striking out 35 batters while allowing opponents to hit just .192 against him.
It's been a while since the Dodgers and Rangers have drafted a Long Beach State player. The last Dirtbags player picked by the Dodgers was Matt Montgomery in 1997, and the Rangers haven't picked a Dirtbag since drafting Justin Siegel in 1996. A total of 21 players have now been drafted during Troy Buckley's six years as Dirtbags head coach.
