PRIVATEERS IN THE MLB DRAFT
The draft history for the New Orleans Privateers baseball team has seen 92 players have their names called with 14 making it to the Major Leagues (13 as a player and one as a manager). One of the first Privateers to break into the show was Roger Erickson. A two-year letter winner with New Orleans (1976-77), Erickson was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the third round. In his first season in the Majors, Erickson won 14 games and earned 37 starts.
Eric Rasmussen also broke into the Big Leagues with the Cardinals in 1975. Rasmussen won 50 career games in the Majors and had an ERA of 3.85. Rasmussen's highest win total in a season was 14, with 12 of those coming as a member of the San Diego Padres. Rasmussen also had a season-best 120 strikeouts with the Cardinals in the 1977 season.
In total, 13 players who featured at the University of New Orleans wound up making their way to the show as players. New Orleans native, Johnny Giavotella debuted at the Major League level with the Kansas City Royals. After being designated for assignment, the Los Angeles Angels acquired Giavotella. The former Jesuit and UNO stand-out won the starting job at second base in spring training. Since then, Giavotella played in the Orioles organization in 2017.
Giavotella was one of six Privateers selected in the 2008 Draft, marking the most players drafted since 1988 when seven former Privateers heard their name called. Of the members from the '88 class, three made it to the Majors (Ted Wood, Joe Slusarski, and Brian Traxler). Wood was a supplemental first round draft choice, and one of three Privateers who were first round picks in the June Draft. The highest overall selection was Augie Schmidt who was picked second overall in the 1982 Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. Schmidt won the Golden Spikes Award in '82.
Four Privateer pitchers were selected in the last four seasons. In 2017, Shawn Semple who was a first team All-Southland pitcher as a junior was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 11th round. In his first pro ball assignment, Semple went 4-0 with a 1.00 ERA and two saves in 13 appearances for the Gulf Coast League Yankees East. He got the save in the GCL title game. Semple finished ninth on the career strikeout list with 223. Bryan Warzek was a two-time All-Southland pick and became a sixth round pick of the Dodgers in 2018. Warzek finished his career fifth on the Privateers strikeout list with 260.
In 2019, Reeves Martin heard his name called in the 21st round by the Seattle Mariners. Martin became the single season and career saves leader after three years with the program. He was an All-American by three publications in '19. A year later, Eric Orze was drafted by the New York Mets in the fifth round. Orze went 3-0 with a 2.75 ERA in a shortened senior season after defeating cancer. He made his big league debut with the Mets in 2024.
Nathan Blasick became the fifth Privateer to be drafted in Blake Dean's tenure. After playing as an outfielder his first year, Blasick transitioned to the mound in 2024 where he led the team in appearances and had 40 strikeouts in 34.1 innings. Blasick became the second Privateer to be drafted by the Colorado Rockies when he was taken in the 19th round.
Joey Butler also was part of the '08 class and made it to the big leagues. Since being drafted by the Texas Rangers in 2008, Butler has had two separate stints in the Major Leagues. Butler went to St. Louis in 2014 and played in six games with the Cardinals. In January 2015, Butler signed a Minor League deal with Tampa Bay and started the season in AAA Durham. Butler has played at the Triple-A level for Cleveland and Washington over the past two seasons. Thomas Diamond (2004) broke into the Majors and pitched in 16 games during the 2010 season with the Chicago Cubs. Diamond struck out 10 batters in his MLB debut against Milwaukee on August 3rd, 2010.
BOLD DENOTES A FORMER-STUDENT ATHLETE THAT MADE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
