In the Big Leagues Now:

This summer, 1,498 baseball players were drafted into Major League Baseball. Two of those players were Jamie Langham and Matt Goyen of Georgia College & State University.

Langham, an outfielder, and Goyen, a left-handed pitcher, were drafted in the 27th round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. The Cincinnati Reds drafted Langham and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays drafted Goyen.

Langham played mostly right field for the Bobcats, occasionally playing center field. A powerful leadoff hitter, Langham led the team with 10 home runs. As a leadoff hitter, he supported the team with his incredible speed and 20 stolen bases. His ability to get on base earned him a .457 on base percentage. Langham finished the season with a .356 batting average and was awarded all-conference honors. He complemented his offensive skills with his outstanding defense. Assistant Coach Kevin Mobley noticed that Langham had a fiery attitude that could pump up the team.

“If he played well, we played well.”

Langham signed with the Reds and is now in Sarasota, Fla. playing for the
Reds’ rookie team. Next year, he will hopes to report to spring training in the Reds’ farm system.

Goyen is a steady left-handed starting pitcher. He has an outstanding change-up, which his other pitches feed off of.

“His change-up has a lot of deception; the batters can’t pick the ball up,” said Mobley.

Goyen, who missed the first three weeks of the season with tendonitis, had a strong season going 4-1 with an ERA of 2.41. This summer Goyen played in the Cape Cod League and was regarded as the league’s most outstanding pitcher.

Goyen did not sign with the Devil Rays. He decided to play another year with GC&SU in hopes of being drafted higher next year and getting a better deal. The decision was rather easy for Goyen with the help of the coach’s advice.

“It was not enough money to give up two years of eligibility,” he said.

This year Goyen expects to be one of the top pitchers in the conference. The coaches expect him to lead the team and to be an All-American.

“Matt is not very vocal, but he leads through his actions,” Mobley said.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 10 2004. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry