Junior utility man Nick Yarnall is Pitt’s fifth player selected in the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
The Los Angeles Dodgers took Yarnall in the 35th round of the draft (No. 1061 overall) on Saturday night. He joins pitcher T.J. Zeuch, shortstop Charles LeBlanc, catcher Alex Kowalczyk and outfielder Aaron Schnurbusch as one of five Panthers drafted in 2016.
Yarnall appeared in 40 games in his first year at Pitt, making 12 starts and batting .241. As a sophomore, he hit .330 with four home runs, 15 runs batted in and a .580 slugging percentage. He emerged as one of Pitt’s biggest power hitters in 2016, leading the team with 11 home runs with 39 RBIs while batting .309 and slugging .556.
Yarnall earned ACC Player of the Week honors after blasting five home runs in a weekend series at Grambling State and was named Third-Team All-ACC.