Gophers' TJ Oakes Drafted In 11th Round
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- University of Minnesota pitcher TJ Oakes, of Jordan, Minn., was drafted by the Colorado Rockies with the 10th pick in the 11th round (348th overall) in Tuesday's Major League Baseball Draft.
Drafted in the 41st round of the 2011 draft -- 1,258th overall -- Oakes, who just finished his junior year, improved 30 rounds this season. Oakes is the first Gopher drafted by the Rockies since Keith Krenke in 1992.
Oakes is a 6-foot-5-inch right-handed pitcher, and weighs 225 pounds. Earning First-Team All-Big Ten honors this season, Oakes was 7-3 in 2012 and had a 2.31 ERA.
Oakes is the son of current Gophers pitching coach Todd Oakes, who was drafted by the San Francisco Giants and played four years in the organization. In 1987, Todd Oakes moved into the coaching ranks and spent the next 12 years as a pitching coach at various levels of the organization.
