Three Tribe ballplayers drafted
It was a good weekend for three William & Mary baseball players.
Nick Thompson, Michael Katz and Ryan Lindemuth all were drafted by major league teams, running the number of Tribe players selected in the MLB draft to 32.
Thompson went in the eighth round to the St. Louis Cardinals, the 255th player selected and the first out of the Colonial Athletic Association. Katz went to the New York Mets one round later, while Lindemuth was selected by the New York Yankees in the 37th round.
Thompson, a Chesapeake, Va., native who played infield and outfield for the Tribe, made his presence felt in just one season at W&M. A first-team All-CAA selection, he finished the season with a .368 batting average; he had 85 hits, 14 doubles, 11 home runs and 37 RBIs. He recorded a .571 slugging percentage and a .479 on-base percentage.
Katz, an infielder from Falls Church, Va., finished the 2014 season with a .363 batting average, 87 hits, 24 doubles, one triple, 14 home runs. He scored 64 runs and had a school-record 75 runs batted in. He posted a .646 slugging percentage and a .445 on-base percentage. He ranked sixth in the country in doubles, seventh in home runs, sixth in runs scored, 10th in slugging percentage, second in RBIs and fourth in total bases.
To date, Katz has appeared 166 games, all starts for the Tribe. He has a .346 career batting average with 230 hits, 57 doubles, two triples, 29 home runs, 180 RBIs. He ranks in the top 10 all-time in runs, hits, doubles, home runs, RBIs and total bases.
Katz was named Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year and to the league’s first team. He was also named a Louisville Slugger first team All-American. He was a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes Award.
Lindemuth, an infielder from Burke, Va., missed the last 16 games of the season with a hand injury. Despite that, he finished with a .297 batting average. He collected 43 hits, 11 doubles, two triples, six homers and 34 RBIs. For his efforts, he was named second team All-CAA.
Lindemuth finished his career playing in 214 games, with 213 starts. He batted .323 with 263 hits, 196 runs scored, 54 doubles, nine triples, 17 home runs, and 160 RBIs. He ranks in the top five all-time in games played, games started, at-bats, runs scored, hits, triples, RBIs, total bases and hit by pitches. He also ranks in the top 10 in stolen bases and doubles.
He was previously selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 20th round, but opted to return to college.
