Luke Heimlich, Oregon State pitcher who molested niece, isn't selected in MLB draft

Gabe Lacques | USA TODAY

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Oregon State pitcher Luke Heimlich was not selected over three days of Major League Baseball’s draft – 30 teams making an individual decision that created a collective repudiation of the left-hander who admitted to sexually assaulting his niece when he was a teenager.

It marked the second consecutive season Heimlich, 22, went undrafted. Unlike last year, teams had a full year to mull the loaded decision to draft, develop and possibly feature on the major league stage a convicted child molester.

Heimlich was slated to be a high-round pick in the 2017 draft but his arrest as a 16-year-old was revealed by the Oregonian just days before the draft. Heimlich signed a seven-page guilty plea in a deal that enabled him to avoid jail time. His niece had told investigators he molested her during a period in which she was 4 to 16 years old; Heimlich was 16 at the time of his guilty plea.

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In a recent Sports Illustrated interview, Heimlich denied molesting his niece, saying he signed his plea to end a tumultuous period for his family. His claim was vigorously refuted by the parents of his niece.

Heimlich returned to Oregon State for his senior year, and has posted a 15-1 record as the perennially powerful Beavers have returned to the NCAA super regionals; they will play host to Minnesota this weekend.

Of course, Heimlich’s undrafted status does not mean his career is over. Clubs still could sign him as a free agent. He could also opt to pitch in independent leagues in the hope that more time passing between his guilty plea may make major league organizations comfortable enough to employ him.

However, some teams – most publicly the Texas Rangers – had removed him from consideration before the draft, and that risk-reward equation may never change.