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6.5.2000
Ben Diggins Selected No. 17 by the Los Angeles Dodgers

Tucson, Ariz. (June 5) -- University of Arizona baseball player Ben Diggins was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers with the 17th pick of the first round of the Major League Baseball draft on June 5. Dave Abbott and Keoni DeRenne were also selected in the later rounds of the draft.

As a pitcher and designated hitter with the Wildcats last season, Diggins was a first team All-America selection by Baseball Weekly and a Smith Award semi-finalist, an honor that is given to the nation's top player. As a pitcher, he went 10-4 with a 3.83 ERA and had 127 strikeouts in 112.2 innings pitched. He became the first Wildcat pitcher to win 10 games since Scott Erickson did it in 1989 and allowed just 24 extra base hits in 427 at bats. As the UA's starting designated hitter, he batted .336 and had nine home runs and 34 RBI. He was second on the team in on-base percentage.

In two years at Arizona, he ranks 19th on the school's all-time pitching list for career strikeouts with 218 and is 11th with 9.65 strikeouts per nine innings. He went 18-10 during his career with an ERA of 5.22 and pitched five complete games.

Abbott, a right handed senior pitcher from Tucson's Sabino High School, was taken in the eighth round by the Toronto Blue Jays and DeRenne, a junior shortstop from Honolulu, Hawaii, was tabbed by the Atlanta Braves in the 12th round.

Abbott redshirted the 2000 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on April 20, 1999. Leading up to that injury, he posted a 3-0 record in seven games during the 1999 season, struck out 17 batters and had an ERA of 3.04.

As for DeRenne, he was an All-Pac-10 first team selection last season after hitting .362 and starting in every game he played (53). He was second on the team in hits with 72 and had 44 RBI. He also had seven homeruns, 12 doubles and is projected as a second baseman at the major league level.



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