OMAHA, Neb. – San Diego State third baseman/relief pitcher Casey Schmitt has been chosen by the San Francisco Giants in the second round of the 2020 Major League Baseball with the 49th overall pick on Thursday.
Along with shortstop Anthony Walters, who was taken later in the afternoon by the New York Mets with the 91st overall pick in round three, Schmitt and his infield neighbor give the Aztecs 218 MLB draft choices dating back to 1965 and 21 over the last six years. In addition, Schmitt becomes the highest SDSU player drafted since Stephen Strasburg was chosen by the Washington Nationals with the No. 1 overall pick in 2009.
As the Aztecs' starting third baseman, Schmitt rallied from a slow start at the plate to finish among the Mountain West leaders in several categories during the 2020 campaign, including batting average (11th - .323), hits (T-12th - 20), slugging percentage (19th - .452) and on-base percentage (20th - .386). He was just beginning to hit his stride before the COVID-19 pandemic, ending the year with a six-game hitting streak while notching two or more hits in his final four outings.
Schmitt, who received third-team All-America recognition from Collegiate Baseball magazine, also tied for the national lead with six saves in eight relief appearances on the mound, compiling a 3.75 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 12.0 innings. With his effort, the Eastlake High alumnus climbed into fourth place on the school's all-time list with 23 career saves.
An all-Mountain West honoree, Schmitt was earlier named conference Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 24 after recording consecutive saves against Power 5 schools Iowa and Nebraska at the Tony Gwynn Legacy (Feb. 21-22) to go with another save earlier that week vs. No. 24 Cal State Fullerton (Feb. 18). He also saved games against 2018 national champion Oregon State (March 1), helping SDSU earn a series split, as well as at No. 11/14 Oklahoma (March 6).
On March 9, Schmitt garnered MW Player of the Week accolades after leading the Aztecs in numerous categories in four games vs. No. 17/17 Long Beach State (March 3) and Oklahoma (March 6-8), including batting average (.500), on-base percentage (.500), slugging percentage (.833), hits (9), RBIs (6) doubles (2) and triples (2).
Over the past three years, Schmitt made 121 starts in 130 games played, posting a career .295 batting average to go with six home runs, 77 RBIs and 71 runs scored. In addition to his save total, the MLB prospect has appeared in 50 games with four starts as a pitcher, posting a 4-5 record and a 2.48 ERA while striking out 78 batters in 87.0 innings.
As a freshman in 2018, Schmitt established an SDSU's single-season earned run average record with a 0.28 mark (minimum 30 IP) and was named Most Valuable Player in the Mountain West Championship.
After it was picked for a first-place finish in the Mountain West preseason poll, San Diego State posted a 10-6 record in its first 16 games of the shortened 2020 campaign. The Aztecs defeated a trio of ranked teams in No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 17 Long Beach State and No. 24 Cal State Fullerton to go with victories over recent national champions Coastal Carolina (2016) and Oregon State (2018, twice).