Four Duke players drafted to MLB teams

The first Duke baseball player drafted went in the sixth round of the MLB draft on Monday afternoon, and then three more were picked in the ninth round.

Left-handed reliever James Tallon was drafted in the sixth round by the Phillies, with the 191st overall pick.

In the ninth round, left-handed starter Owen Proksch was drafted 265th overall by the Rangers; shortstop Wallace Clark was drafted 273rd by the Diamondbacks; and left-handed pitcher Andrew Healy was picked 275th by the Brewers.

Each player is expected to sign. Tallon is actually the one of the four who seems like it’d be possible to return to Duke; Proksch and Healy entered the transfer portal after Chris Pollard departed for Virginia and Clark is out of eligibility.

The slot value for Tallon’s pick is $327,800; the value for Proksch is $205,100; the slot for Clark is $200,800; and the value for Healy is $200,000. Players can sign for more or less than those numbers; they’re simply baseline values.

Tallon worked out Duke’s bullpen for the past three seasons. He set Duke’s single-season saves record with 12 as a freshman, had a down season because of an injury as a sophomore, and this past season he had a 3.96 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings.

Proksch was in Duke’s bullpen with Tallon until this past season. The lefty became the Blue Devils’ Friday night starter and was 4-3 with a 4.68 ERA and held opposing hitters to a .224 average.

Clark was the most outstanding player of the Athens regional this year. He slashed .307/.478/.507 this season with nine home runs.

 Healy was mostly a starter across his three seasons for Duke. He was 3-3 with a 7.29 ERA this season.