Bucknell University Athletics
Danny Rafferty Selected in 35th Round of MLB Draft by Oakland
6/11/2016 8:23:00 PM | Baseball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell junior P/OF Danny Rafferty (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy) was chosen by the Oakland Athletics in the 35th round (pick No. 1,042) of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Saturday. Rafferty, who was one of five Patriot League players picked during the three-day draft, is the first Bison to be chosen in the MLB Draft since B.J. LaRosa in 2010.
Rafferty was Bucknell's starting left fielder this past season, hitting .294 with four home runs, 26 RBIs and 36 runs scored. One of just three Bison to start at least 50 games, Rafferty ranked ninth in the Patriot League in slugging percentage (.452) and was tied for seventh in triples (4).
Rafferty concluded the season with eight hits in his last four games, going 8-for-18 (.444) over that span. He recorded Bucknell's only multi-home run game this season when he hit two against Holy Cross in late April. In that same contest, the left-handed hitter broke Bucknell's record for total bases in a game with 13.
Rafferty also served as the squad's closer, pitching in 15 games in relief and recording a team-high five saves to rank fourth in the Patriot League in that category. He was 1-3 with a 5.87 ERA, but struck out an impressive 24 batters in 23.0 innings. Rafferty earned the win in the final game of the regular season that clinched a Patriot League Tournament berth for the Bison by pitching three scoreless innings of relief against conference champion Navy.
In his first year pitching on the college level as a sophomore in 2015, Rafferty was nearly unhittable. He allowed just five hits and one walk all season while striking out 24 in 12.1 innings.
The Bison have had 23 players advance to play Major League Baseball. The most recent was Matt Daley, a 2004 Bucknell graduate.
