Pirro Drafted by Washington Nationals in 21st Round
6/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
By Jay Garneau, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeBaseball)
SECAUCUS, N.J. - Wake Forest senior Matt Pirro was selected in the 21st round by the Washington Nationals with the 644th overall pick in the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft on Wednesday.
Pirro had a breakout 2015 campaign in which he posted a 7-4 record with a 3.67 ERA, striking out 71 batters in 73.2 innings.
In his Wake Forest career, he totaled a 14-13 record and 4.71 ERA, allowing opponents to hit just .248.
"Our staff is thrilled for Matt," head coach Tom Walter said. "He's worked incredibly hard and done a lot for this program. The culmination of that hard work is him realizing his dream of playing professional baseball in a great Nationals organization."
This marks the 36th straight year that Wake Forest has had either a current player or an incoming signee selected in the MLB Draft.
It also marks the fourth straight season the Nationals have drafted a Demon Deacon, along with Conor Keniry a year ago, Niko Spezial in 2013 and Carlos Lopez in 2012.
Additionally, Wake Forest signee Garrett Whitley was selected in the first round by the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday with the 13th overall selection.
That pick marked the highest of any Wake Forest player or signee since Kyle Sleeth went No. 3 overall to Detroit in 2003, and was the first time Wake Forest was represented in the first round since Allan Dykstra went No. 23 to the Padres in 2008.
Another Demon Deacon signee, Rayne Supple, was selected by the Cubs in the 38th round, becoming the first player drafted from Vermont since 2009.
John Aiello, also signed to join Wake Forest as a freshman next season, went undrafted. He was rated as the No. 186 prospect in the draft by MLB.com and No. 228 by Baseball America, but is believed to have a strong commitment to Wake Forest.
