St. John's University Athletics
Three Pitchers Taken on Day Three of 2019 MLB Draft
6/5/2019 6:36:00 PM | Baseball
Sean Mooney, Joe LaSorsa and Jeff Belge selected between rounds 12-18
QUEENS, N.Y. (June 5, 2019) – A trio of St. John's junior hurlers heard their names called on the third day of the 2019 MLB Draft, as Sean Mooney, Joe LaSorsa and Jeff Belge were selected by professional organizations on Wednesday afternoon.
The Minnesota Twins selected Mooney in the 12th round (359th overall) before LaSorsa (548th) and Belge (551st) were picked by the Rays and Dodgers, respectively, in the 18th round.
The Red Storm saw four players taken in total during the 2019 MLB Draft, as Gavin Hollowell came off the board in the sixth round (189th) on Tuesday afternoon. St. John's has now had at least four players drafted in six of the last 10 seasons.
The Red Storm's four picks in the top 18 rounds marked the most by a St. John's team since 2015, when six Johnnies were selected before the end of the 18th round.
Before seeing his junior season cut short by injury in early April, Mooney had already long established himself as one of the nation's most consistent talents. As a freshman in 2017, he exploded onto the scene, winning National Freshman Pitcher of the Year honors and becoming just the second player in conference history to be named the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year simultaneously. He won each of his first eight decisions before finishing the season ranked in the top 10 nationally in both ERA (1.71) and WHIP (0.86).
Following a summer stint with USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team, Mooney repeated as a First Team All-BIG EAST selection in 2018, tying the school record for wins by going 11-3 with a 2.56 ERA in 16 appearances. He was named an All-American by four separate publications that season, raising his two-year total in that category to seven.
After three years in Queens, Mooney ranks fifth on the Red Storm's all-time lists for wins (21) and strikeouts (249) while placing seventh on the program's career ERA ledger, posting a 2.13 output over 244.2 innings of work. For his St. John's career, opponents hit just .204 off the Marmora, N.J., native.
LaSorsa earned his selection on the heels of a stellar junior season, ranking seventh in Division I with a 1.66 ERA. This past year, LaSorsa won a team-high six games in first season as a starter, most of which was spent in the Friday night role. He struck out twice as many batters as he walked and limited opponents to a .199 batting average in 86.2 innings of work.
The Katonah, N.Y., product pitched best when it mattered most for the Red Storm, helping the Johnnies secure their league-record 16th straight BIG EAST Championship berth by throwing eight shutout innings against Seton Hall in the season's final series opener. A week later against Xavier in the opening game of the conference tournament, LaSorsa blanked the Musketeers over 7.1 frames of work, needing only 78 pitches to record 22 outs and propel the Red Storm in the winners' bracket.
During his first two seasons with the program, LaSorsa was the Johnnies' most dangerous threat out of the bullpen, going 11-1 in 47 relief appearances with eight saves. He was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team as a freshman in 2017 before finding a spot on the conference's top squad this spring. Prior to the start of the 2019 campaign, he was named to the preseason watch list for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Associations' Stopper of the Year Award, presented to the best relief pitcher in college baseball.
Belge heard his name called three picks after his teammate LaSorsa in the 18th round. This past season, the 6-foot-5 southpaw continued to intimidate the opposition, leading the team with 73 strikeouts in just 61.2 innings of work. Ranking inside the top 100 nationally in strikeouts per nine innings, he fanned eight batters in a single game four separate times this season, including a stretch of three-straight such affairs in March.
The Syracuse, N.Y., native anchored the Red Storm to its BIG EAST title in 2018, throwing eight innings of two-hit shutout ball in the decisive game of the conference tournament. He carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning of that contest, earning himself the Jack Kaiser Award as the championship's most outstanding player. He followed up that performance with a strong showing in the NCAA Clemson Regional, matching a career high with nine strikeouts and limiting a potent Tigers offense over the game's first five innings.
Belge struck out 199 batters in just 177 innings over his three years in Queens, good enough for the 10th on the program's all-time Ks list.
The Minnesota Twins selected Mooney in the 12th round (359th overall) before LaSorsa (548th) and Belge (551st) were picked by the Rays and Dodgers, respectively, in the 18th round.
The Red Storm saw four players taken in total during the 2019 MLB Draft, as Gavin Hollowell came off the board in the sixth round (189th) on Tuesday afternoon. St. John's has now had at least four players drafted in six of the last 10 seasons.
The Red Storm's four picks in the top 18 rounds marked the most by a St. John's team since 2015, when six Johnnies were selected before the end of the 18th round.
Before seeing his junior season cut short by injury in early April, Mooney had already long established himself as one of the nation's most consistent talents. As a freshman in 2017, he exploded onto the scene, winning National Freshman Pitcher of the Year honors and becoming just the second player in conference history to be named the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year simultaneously. He won each of his first eight decisions before finishing the season ranked in the top 10 nationally in both ERA (1.71) and WHIP (0.86).
Following a summer stint with USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team, Mooney repeated as a First Team All-BIG EAST selection in 2018, tying the school record for wins by going 11-3 with a 2.56 ERA in 16 appearances. He was named an All-American by four separate publications that season, raising his two-year total in that category to seven.
After three years in Queens, Mooney ranks fifth on the Red Storm's all-time lists for wins (21) and strikeouts (249) while placing seventh on the program's career ERA ledger, posting a 2.13 output over 244.2 innings of work. For his St. John's career, opponents hit just .204 off the Marmora, N.J., native.
LaSorsa earned his selection on the heels of a stellar junior season, ranking seventh in Division I with a 1.66 ERA. This past year, LaSorsa won a team-high six games in first season as a starter, most of which was spent in the Friday night role. He struck out twice as many batters as he walked and limited opponents to a .199 batting average in 86.2 innings of work.
The Katonah, N.Y., product pitched best when it mattered most for the Red Storm, helping the Johnnies secure their league-record 16th straight BIG EAST Championship berth by throwing eight shutout innings against Seton Hall in the season's final series opener. A week later against Xavier in the opening game of the conference tournament, LaSorsa blanked the Musketeers over 7.1 frames of work, needing only 78 pitches to record 22 outs and propel the Red Storm in the winners' bracket.
During his first two seasons with the program, LaSorsa was the Johnnies' most dangerous threat out of the bullpen, going 11-1 in 47 relief appearances with eight saves. He was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team as a freshman in 2017 before finding a spot on the conference's top squad this spring. Prior to the start of the 2019 campaign, he was named to the preseason watch list for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Associations' Stopper of the Year Award, presented to the best relief pitcher in college baseball.
Belge heard his name called three picks after his teammate LaSorsa in the 18th round. This past season, the 6-foot-5 southpaw continued to intimidate the opposition, leading the team with 73 strikeouts in just 61.2 innings of work. Ranking inside the top 100 nationally in strikeouts per nine innings, he fanned eight batters in a single game four separate times this season, including a stretch of three-straight such affairs in March.
The Syracuse, N.Y., native anchored the Red Storm to its BIG EAST title in 2018, throwing eight innings of two-hit shutout ball in the decisive game of the conference tournament. He carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning of that contest, earning himself the Jack Kaiser Award as the championship's most outstanding player. He followed up that performance with a strong showing in the NCAA Clemson Regional, matching a career high with nine strikeouts and limiting a potent Tigers offense over the game's first five innings.
Belge struck out 199 batters in just 177 innings over his three years in Queens, good enough for the 10th on the program's all-time Ks list.
Players Mentioned
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