June 8, 2007

New York, N.Y. - Three Stanford players were selected on Friday's second and final day of the 2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Junior righthanded pitcher Erik Davis (Texas Rangers, 650th pick overall) and junior infielder Adam Sorgi (Philadelphia Phillies, 653rd pick overall) were both taken in the 21st round, while junior catcher Brian Juhl was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 35th round (1063rd pick overall).

"I am always proud of our players who are recognized by professional baseball," said Stanford head coach Mark Marquess.

The selections of Davis, Sorgi and Juhl give Stanford a total of five players taken in the 2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft following the selections of fourth-rounder Nolan Gallagher (Seattle Mariners, 135th pick overall) and fifth-rounder Michael Taylor (Philadelphia Phillies, 173rd pick overall) on Thursday's first day of the draft.

Move coverage on the entire draft can be accessed online at mlb.com.

ERIK DAVIS (Texas Rangers, 21st Round, 650th Overall Selection)
• Erik Davis Bio
Davis moved into Stanford's starting rotation for the first time in his career late in the 2007 campaign. He finished the 2007 season with a 4-2 record to go with a 5.29 ERA and one save. Davis struck out 42 batters in 51.0 innings of work over 18 appearances and six starts, while limiting opponents to a .263 batting average. His best outings came late in the season, including 7.0 innings without allowing an earned run and striking out a career-high seven versus Pacific on May 20.

Davis made a triumphant return to the mound in 2007 after suffering a severe eye injury when he was hit by a line drive in a 2006 Cape Cod League Baseball game.

Davis has a career 7-4 collegiate record with a 4.88 ERA and six saves over 60 appearances and 11 starts. He has 92 strikeouts in 123.2 innings on the hill. "Texas is a great organization that a lot of players from Stanford have been selected by before," said Davis. "I'm excited to be possibly starting with the same organization as some of those guys. This [being drafted] shows that I have the talent to go out and play at the next level, regardless of whether it's pro ball or college ball next year."

"Coming to Stanford has been a life-changing experience," Davis added about his first three seasons at Stanford. "I have lots of friends, the coaching staff has been unbelievable, and I've improved both as a player and a person. I feel blessed to be able to go here."

Davis had previously been selected by the Anaheim Angels in the 47th round (1397th pick overall) of the 2004 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Anaheim Angels.

Adam Sorgi was selected in the 21st round (653rd pick overall) of the 2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies

ADAM SORGI (Philadelphia Phillies, 21st Round, 653rd Overall Selection)
• Adam Sorgi Bio
Sorgi earned All-Pac-10 honors for the first time in his career in 2007, while leading Stanford and ranking sixth in the Pac-10 in both batting average (.375) and on-base percentage (.451) when he returned to action after missing the entire 2006 campaign with a right shoulder injury. He hovered just under the .400 mark for the most of the 2007 campaign and ended up third on the club with 60 hits despite playing in just 42 of the team's 56 games and making only 40 starts mostly due to his continued recovery from his shoulder injury. Sorgi was able to start each of the team's final 37 games at second base after Stanford returned from its annual break for finals in March. The 37 consecutive starts allowed him to just exactly reach the minimum number of games he needed to play (75% of the team's 56 contests) to officially qualify for the Pac-10 and NCAA stat leaders. His hottest stretch of the campaign came with a season-high 10-game hit streak from April 21 - May 6. Sorgi had an incredible .564 (22-39) batting average during the red-hot streak with multiple hits in eight of the 10 contests to raise his overall batting average at the end of the run to a season-high .407.

Sorgi has a .324 (152-469) career collegiate batting average with five homers, 73 RBI and three stolen bases in 130 games played and 117 starts at Stanford. He has added 87 runs, 29 doubles, four triples, 57 walks, eight hit by pitches, eight sacrifice flies and four sacrifice bunts to go with a .435 slugging percentage and a .400 on-base mark. Sorgi also has 45 multiple-hit games, including 15 three-hit contests and a pair of four-hit games, in addition to 20 multiple-RBI contests with three on five occasions and four once. Sorgi is fielding at a career .940 clip with 28 errors in 261 defensive chances.

"To be able to come back from my shoulder surgery and still have my talents on the baseball field recognized at the professional level is obviously exciting for me," said Sorgi.

Sorgi had also previously been selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 49th round (1445th pick overall) of the 2003 MLB First-Year Player Draft.

Brian Juhl was selected in the 35th round (1063rd pick overall) of the 2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Cleveland Indians

BRIAN JUHL (Cleveland Indians, 35th Round, 1063rd Overall Selection)
• Brian Juhl Bio
Juhl took over as Stanford's starting catcher in 2007 and started 44 of the team's 56 games behind the plate, while playing in a total of 50 contests. Juhl hit .302 (49-162) on the season with a 6-for-15 (.400) three-game set in his last series of the season at USC (May 25-27) to raise his average 10 points and move him over the .300 mark for the campaign. He added five homers and 28 RBI, as well as 10 doubles, 12 walks, five hit by pitches, three sacrifice flies and two sacrifice bunts to go with a .457 slugging percentage and a .363 on-base mark.

Juhl is a .282 career hitter in his first three seasons at Stanford with six homers and 31 RBI in 76 games played and 51 starts. He has added 25 runs, 12 doubles, 24 walks, six hit by pitches, three sacrifice flies and six sacrifice bunts along with a .426 slugging percentage and a .368 on-base mark. Juhl has 13 career multiple-hit games, including a pair of three-hit contests in addition to seven multiple-RBI contests with three RBI twice and four one time. He has made just two errors in 374 defensive chances for a career .995 fielding percentage.

"It feels pretty good to be drafted," said Juhl. "You know that's what you are trying to do as you come up through high school ball and college, so it's pretty exciting to hear your name called."

"Coach Marquess stresses mental toughness and being ready to play," added Juhl about his Stanford experience. "That will be a large factor in pro ball to kind of just play the game the way it's supposed to be played. Professional teams are going to like that. I've also learned how to come overcome adversity while at Stanford, which will hopefully be helpful down the road."

Juhl was selected in the MLB First-Year Player Draft for the first time.

2007 MLB FIRST-YEAR PLAYER DRAFT
DAY 1 SELECTIONS (JUNE 7, 2007)

NOLAN GALLAGHER (Seattle Mariners, 4th Round, 135th Overall Selection)
• Nolan Gallagher Bio | Nolan Gallagher Audio
Gallagher spent most of his junior 2007 season in Stanford's starting pitching rotation before being moved to the bullpen late in the campaign. Gallagher (5-6, 7.27 ERA, 1 SV, 64.1 IP, 48 SO) led the club in victories, while ranking third in both strikeouts and starts (11). He made 19 appearances and also had the team's only shutout of the season and one of the club's three complete games. He worked 5.0 innings of scoreless relief over his final two appearances of the season on May 25 and May 27 to help lead Stanford to a three-game sweep at USC in its final series of the 2007 season.

Nolan Gallagher was selected in the fourth round (135th pick overall) of the 2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Seattle Mariners

Gallagher has a 12-16 career collegiate record with a 4.82 ERA and four saves over 64 appearances and 21 starts. He has also added two complete games and a shutout with 159 strikeouts in 185.0 innings pitched.

"It's awesome any time you are selected in the draft, especially in the fourth round and by an organization like the Seattle Mariners, " Gallagher said. "I'm really excited."

"Being at Stanford these last three years has meant everything to me," Gallagher added. "Becoming a professional baseball player is a dream, but playing for the Stanford Baseball program is also a dream. It's a dream come true, and it's been awesome. It's helped me to develop into the young man that I am, and I'm thankful for every second that I've spent here, and the guys on this team that I've spent it with. I'm also very thankful for the opportunity I had to come to Stanford and be a part of this, and I'm looking forward to giving back. I will always hold Stanford close to my heart."

MICHAEL TAYLOR (Philadelphia Phillies, 5th Round, 173rd Overall Selection)
• Michael Taylor Bio | Michael Taylor Audio
Taylor earned All-Pac-10 honors for the first time in his career as a junior in 2007 when he had career-bests in nearly every offensive category, including home runs (12), RBI (59), batting average (.335) and hits (78). He also added career-bests with 16 doubles, 136 total bases and a .584 slugging percentage, while equaling career-highs in triples (3) and on-base percentage (.395). Taylor paced the team in RBI and doubles, while co-leading the club in homers, at bats, total bases and slugging percentage. He finished his 2007 season on a tear with a career-high 12-game hit streak and had multiple-hit games in 16 of his last 19 contests with a .429 batting average, seven homers and 31 RBI during the 19-game stretch.

Taylor has put up solid numbers during his three seasons at Stanford with a career .316 batting average, 21 homers and 126 RBI. He has also added 124 runs scored, 217 hits, 45 doubles, eight triples, 341 total bases, 63 walks, 21 hit by pitches and 12 stolen bases to go with a .497 slugging percentage and a .385 on-base mark. Taylor has also been extremely durable during his collegiate career, playing in 174 of 176 possible games with 173 starts, including 140 in a row during one stretch that spanned all three of his Stanford seasons from 2005-07.

Michael Taylor was selected in the fifth round (173rd pick overall) of the 2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies

"Obviously, I'm very excited about the opportunity to play for the Phillies," commented Taylor. "They're an organization that I kind have earmarked coming into this process as a good situation for me. I'd love that opportunity to one day put on that uniform and play for the Phillies. I'm pretty excited about the opportunity that I'm getting."

"The three years at Stanford have helped me develop mentally and emotionally," added Taylor. "I've been able to handle things at a different level. This isn't exactly the real world but your parents are over 3,000 miles away. You have to be able to manage time a little bit better. You also have to be able to manage being able to play Stanford Baseball at this level, while at the same time trying to compete in the classroom against some of the elite minds in the country. From that standpoint I've been able to deal with lots of adversity and time commitments, and I think that will be very advantageous to me at the next level."