Iowa Hawkeyes pitchers Trenton Wallace, Drew Irvine selected in MLB Draft

IOWA CITY — The Big Ten Conference Pitcher of the Year had to wait a little longer than he probably thought he would to hear his name called as an official Major League Baseball draft pick.

But Trenton Wallace did, in fact, hear it called Tuesday. The University of Iowa redshirt junior was selected in the 11th round by the Toronto Blue Jays and plans to turn professional.

The left-hander from Davenport Assumption emerged as his team’s Friday night ace this season, compiling a 7-1 record and 2.34 earned run average. He had 106 strikeouts in 73 innings.

Yet nine other Big Ten pitchers were taken ahead of him in the draft. Wallace isn’t considered to have overpowering stuff, with his fastball usually topping out at 92 miles per hour, but he has multiple pitches he can throw for strikes.

Wallace told his hometown Quad City Times he expects to sign a contract with Toronto, though he has another year of college eligibility remaining. Former Iowa pitcher Nick Allgeyer recently made his big league debut for the Blue Jays.

Drew Irvine, a redshirt sophomore from Waukee, was drafted Tuesday in the 19th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The right-hander went 2-5 with a 6.43 ERA in 13 appearances, 10 starts.

Irvine’s fastball is firmer than Wallace’s, touching the mid-90s, which was why he was a draft pick. He is the 23rd player drafted by an MLB team in Coach Rick Heller’s eight seasons at the school.

Dubuque Wahlert graduate Ian Moller was drafted Monday by the Texas Rangers in the fourth round. Moller, a catcher, never played high school baseball, opting instead to play only in showcase events and for travel teams.

Moller is an LSU commit but is expected to turn pro. This year’s draft was 20 rounds.

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