Gavin Hollowell Taken by Rockies in Sixth Round of 2019 MLB Draft

6/4/2019 6:42:00 PM | Baseball

Junior right-hander becomes Red Storm’s highest draft pick since 2016

By: Andrew O'Connell

QUEENS, N.Y. (June 4, 2019) – The Colorado Rockies selected St. John's right-hander Gavin Hollowell in the sixth round (189th overall) of the 2019 MLB Draft on Tuesday afternoon.

Hollowell's sixth round selection made him the highest St. John's draft pick since 2016, when Thomas Hackimer went in the fourth round, 123rd overall, to the Minnesota Twins.

Hollowell's selection marked the fourth time in as many years that the Red Storm has seen one of its player taken in the top 10 rounds of the MLB Draft. Hollowell also became the 10th St. John's player picked in the first 10 rounds since 2011.

The Rockies have now drafted six St. John's baseball players over the last decade. The last Red Storm hurler to be taken in the sixth round by Colorado was Matt Carasiti in 2012; he went on to make his big league debut with the club four years later in 2016.

Hollowell tallied 65 appearances, all in relief, over his three years in Queens, going 8-3 with 17 saves and a 2.76 ERA. His 17 saves are tied for fourth in program history in that category. The 6-foot-7 fireballer struck out 119 batters in 104.1 innings while issuing just 39 walks over that same stretch, turning in a career strikeout-to-walk ratio of better than 3-to-1. Opponents hit just .207 off of Hollowell, who allowed only five extra-base hits as a freshman and sophomore.

This past spring, Hollowell recorded a career-high nine saves, good enough for eighth on the program's single-season record list. He registered saves in seven of his final nine appearances, as the Johnnies battled to secure their league-record 16th consecutive BIG EAST Tournament berth. The Skillman, N.J., native struck out 33 batters are issued just six walks over that span.

As a freshman in 2017, Hollowell led the Red Storm in ERA compiling a 1.65 average for a Johnnies squad that won 42 games and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The following season, Hollowell limited opponents to a .138 batting average and, were it not for one subpar outing against eventual NCAA Regional champion Minnesota, would have turned in a 0.84 ERA for the campaign.

The 2019 MLB Draft will conclude tomorrow with rounds 11-40 beginning at 12 p.m. Last season, five St. John's players were taken on the draft's final day, rounding out a six-man class that tied a program record previously set in 2005 and 2015.