By Nathan Keil | Sports Editor
It took until day three, but two Baylor baseball stars heard their names called in the 2018 MLB draft.
Senior closer Troy Montemayor was selected in the 25th round with the 753rd overall pick by the St. Louis Cardinals and sophomore third baseman Davis Wendzel was later selected in the 37th round with the 1,120th overall selection.
Montemayor has been the stopper at the back of the Baylor bullpen for the last three years.
In 2016, the San Antonio native appeared in 24 games and posted a 1-1 record with a 0.78 ERA with 14 saves in 23 innings of work. He followed it up with a 3-1 record with 12 saves in 2017 and finally a 2-1 record with 11 saves in 26 1/3 innings.
One of those two wins came as Baylor rallied twice against TCU in the Big 12 Tournament championship game, allowing one run in three innings of work.
He also pitched a perfect eighth inning in Baylor’s 4-2 loss to Stanford in the NCAA Tournament, his final appearance in a Baylor uniform.
Montemayor was a two-time All-Big 12 first team selection and a second team selection in 2018.
He became the sixth Baylor player drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals, joining Blaine Beatty (1985), Brian Carpenter (1992), Matt Williams (2001), Mark McCormick (2005) and Daniel Castano in 2016.
Montemayor leaves tied for the program record in saves, with 37.
Wendzel, who was selected by the Red Sox, is just a sophomore, but because he turned 21 before the draft, he was eligible to be selected.
Jessica Hubble | Multimedia Editor
Wendzel, from San Clemente, Calif. played a pivotal role for the Bears as they have earned back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths.
Wendzel appeared in 50 games with 47 starts in 2017, where he hit .301 with 46 hits in 153 at-bats, including eight home runs and 30 runs driven in.
In 2018, Wendzel started in all 58 games, hitting .310 while equaling his home run total of eight, but drove in a team-high 49 runs while notching 22 doubles as well.
Wendzel earned an All-Big 12 first team selection for his sophomore efforts. He was an Honorable Mention selection in 2017.
Wendzel becomes the sixth Baylor player drafted the Boston Red Sox organization, joining Jaime Bubela (1999), Kelly Shoppach (2001), David Murphy (2003), Chris Durbin (2003) and Kendal Volz in 2009.
Wendzel will have until July 6 to decide whether to return for his junior season or sign a professional contract.
Baylor finished the 2018 season 37-21 overall, including winning its first ever Big 12 Tournament championship and earning a No. 2 seed in the Stanford regional. The Bears went 1-2 in the NCAA Tournament, dropping a 6-2 game to Cal-State Fullerton and a 4-2 game to Stanford while defeating Wright State 11-5.
