NC State RHP Logan Whitaker drafted by Minnesota Twins
Major League Baseball’s Minnesota Twins drafted NC State right-handed pitcher Logan Whitaker Tuesday evening, picking the Wolfpack veteran in the No. 19 round with the No. 578 overall selection. He is the fourth member of the program selected this year.
During his redshirt senior season with the Pack, he appeared in 13 contests and made 9 starts. Whitaker finished the year with a 3-1 record and a 5.49 ERA in 59.0 innings.
The upperclassman pitched 17.1 innings in the postseason with a 2.60 ERA in the NCAA tournament, leading the team in strikeouts with 23. His final appearance in a Wolfpack uniform was a standout 7-inning performance against Florida in relief. During that outing, he struck out 10 batters and gave up 2 hits.
He missed the 2021 season with an arm injury, so this was the Winston-Salem-native’s first appearance in Omaha. He missed a significant chunk of the season due to illness but rebounded to deliver one of the best individual performances of the season.
“My thought process was to just go one pitch at a time because I wasn’t sure how I was going to react to the nerves and adrenaline,” Whitaker said. “I didn’t have too much of that. I felt pretty confident and ready to go.”
Whitaker also helped wrap up the Raleigh Regional with 6 innings of 2-run ball against James Madison. Head coach Elliott Avent praised the pitcher for his resilience.
“I’ve said this probably at least 50 times this year, and it’s a great lesson for anybody in life, no matter what your situation is,” Avent said. “It doesn’t have to apply to sports. But if a person doesn’t quit on themselves then there’s going to be somebody out there that’s not going to quit on you. That’s what Logan represents.”
The NC State veteran joins Eli Serrano (New York Mets), Brandon Butterworth (San Diego Padres) and Jacob Cozart (Cleveland Guardians) as the fourth Wolfpack standout to hear their name called this week.
