When the Philadelphia Phillies announced their seventh-round choice om Monday’s second day of the Major League Baseball draft, the player didn’t come from a baseball powerhouse.
With pick No. 205, the Phillies selected right-handed pitcher Christian McGowan out of Eastern Oklahoma State, a junior college in Wilburton, Okla., which doesn’t see too many of its players drafted.
But in McGowan’s case, he decided prior to the season the JUCO route would provide a better path into professional baseball than NCAA Division I baseball. There must’ve been some truth in that, as McGowan became the first player drafted out of Eastern Oklahoma State since outfielder Tristan Clarke was taken by the Washington Nationals in the 30th round in 2016 (he didn’t sign) and the program’s highest pick since the San Francisco Giants selected pitcher David Horan in the seventh round in 1988.