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Lincoln ? Tuesday was a busy day for the Nebraska baseball program, as four Husker pitchers were chosen during the second day of the Major League Baseball First-Year Draft.
Senior Mike Sillman (Omaha, Neb.) was chosen in the 21st round by the St. Louis Cardinals and fourth-year junior Dustin Timm (Yutan, Neb.) was picked in the 26th round by the Milwaukee Brewers. A pair of right-handers, Phil Shirek (Minot, N.D.) and Quinton Robertson (Richland, Miss.) were chosen in the 44th round, with Shirek being chosen by Cleveland and Robertson picked by St. Louis.
Sillman, Timm, Shirek and Robertson join seniors Justin Pekarek and Jake Mullinax, who were selected during Monday’s first 18 rounds. Of the six draftees, both Timm and Shirek both have eligibility remaining at Nebraska and can elect to return for the 2005 campaign.
The six selections were the most since the 2001 campaign when eight NU players were drafted, while the five pitchers chosen is the highest single-season pitching total since 1983, when six Husker hurlers were drafted. Nebraska ranked third in the Big 12 and 26th nationally with a team ERA of 3.76 this spring.
Sillman was the first Husker chosen on day two after going 1-2 with five saves and a 2.86 ERA in a team-high 24 appearances. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder had nearly a 4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (34-to-9) and averaged over a strikeout per inning this season. His five saves rank fourth in the Big 12, while his eight saves tied for sixth on Nebraska’s career list. As a junior, Sillman switched to a submarine delivery and became one of the Huskers’ best relievers, going 1-1 with three saves and a 1.82 ERA in 17 appearances in helping Nebraska to 47 wins and a Big 12 title. A two-time academic All-America nominee who earned first-team academic All-Big 12 honors in 2004, Sillman was drafted for the first time in his career on Tuesday.
Timm was an instrumental part of the Husker pitching staff after missing nearly all of two seasons with elbow injuries. The right-hander went 2-3 with a 3.89 ERA in 19 appearances, striking out 24 and walking 11 in 44 innings of work, as he returned to the mound after Tommy John surgery in March of 2003. Timm primarily worked out of the bullpen in 2004, where he recorded a save and allowed just five of 18 inherited runners to score. This is the second time that Timm has been drafted, as he was chosen by Kansas City in the 41st round of the 2000 MLB Draft.
Shirek put together a solid junior campaign as a member of the Huskers’ weekend rotation, going 5-1 with a 3.07 ERA in 15 appearances, including 11 starts. He was seventh in the Big 12 in ERA, while ranking among the team leaders in starts (11, second), wins (five, third) and innings (70.1, third). He allowed two runs or less in nine of his 11 starts, including a career-high nine innings of shutout ball against No. 18 Oklahoma on May 22. Shirek tossed his first career complete game against Kansas, when he fanned a career-high 10 Jayhawks over seven innings. Shirek has compiled a 14-6 record with a 3.46 ERA in his first three seasons at Nebraska, while his 29 starts rank ninth on NU’s all-time list. This is the first time that Shirek has been drafted.
Robertson concluded a solid two-year career as a Husker, compiling a 14-6 record in his two seasons in the Husker baseball program. The 6-foot-5 right-hander went 4-4 with a 4.61 ERA in 16 appearances this season, as he won his last three decisions, including a win over No. 10 Wichita State on April 13. As a junior, he earned first-team All-Big 12 honors, going 10-2 with a 4.23 ERA, leading Nebraska to 47 wins and a Big 12 title. His 10 wins tied first-round pick J.P. Howell for the most in the Big 12 and was the most ever by a first-year Husker pitcher. Only Husker All-Americans Troy Brohawn and Shane Komine won more games in a single season than Robertson’s 2003 total. This marks the second time Robertson was drafted, as he was picked by the New York Yankees in the 2001 MLB Draft.