Penn's Voiro Nabbed in MLB Draft by Oakland
By Matt Leon
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Tuesday proved to be a special day for University of Pennsylvania RHP Vince Voiro as he was selected in the 15th round (469th overall) of the MLB Draft by the Oakland A's.
"I actually found out from some friends who sent me text messages," Voiro tells KYW Newsradio. "I wasn't watching the draft, it gets a little nerve-wracking doing that. So it was a pretty special moment."
Voiro actually was also drafted in 2011. San Diego selected him, but much, much later, taking him in the 47th round (1,433rd overall). He chose not to sign and instead play his senior season and seeing how his stock jumped 32 rounds, it is hard to argue with the decision.
Listen to Matt Leon's interview with Vince Voiro:
While Voiro was expected to be drafted here in 2012, the Cherry Hill, NJ, native says he was a bit surprised it was Oakland that pulled the trigger.
"It's funny because the past two years, both of the teams that picked me were teams that I hadn't spoken too much to. And teams that I had spoken a lot too, weren't the teams that showed interest on draft day. So it's kind of an inexact science and I really didn't know what to expect, but I'm pretty happy about it."
Voiro went 5-3 with a 2.45 ERA in ten games for the Quakers in 2012. In 66 innings, he struck out 59 while only walking 14. "Stuff" wise, he says he's throwing a fastball, slider, straight change and splitter these days. He thinks his consistency is a big reason why he's going to get the opportunity to go pro.
"I come out and they know what to expect. My teammates, this year especially, counted on me to have a good game every time I went out and I delivered pretty much every time. Which was really important for me, and I feel like that showed a lot to a lot of other people. So I feel like that's a pretty big element of my game."
Voiro was an honorable mention All-Ivy selection this past season. The 15th round is the highest a Penn player has been drafted since Ben Krantz was also taken in round #15 by Arizona back in 2003.
You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.
