Stephens: Colorado State's history in the MLB draft

The MLB First-Year Player Draft isn't exactly the "event" its NFL and NBA counterparts are.

First off, college baseball receives virtually no media attention outside of the local markets of the top programs. And then there's that whole 40 rounds thing.

Yes, this season's MLB draft, which began Monday night, has 40 rounds plus compensatory picks. It drags out with the vast majority of players never sniffing Triple-A, much less the major leagues. The MLB draft beyond the first round has never been something that's grasped the attention of casual baseball fans, but it is a big deal for those selected in rounds Nos. 1-40, and plenty of kids from Fort Collins have had that honor.

So have players from CSU.

It's easy to forget about baseball at Colorado State University since the school dissolved its NCAA program in 1992, but there were a handful of Rams who were drafted – 14 of them.

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The most prominent was Mark Knudson. Now a columnist for Mile High Sports who appears in the Coloradoan at times, Knudson was a third-round pick (69th overall) of the Astros in 1982 who played eight seasons in the major leagues before retiring with the hometown Colorado Rockies in 1993. He went 24-29 with a career ERA of .453.

Mark Huismann, a native of Lincoln, Nebraska, pitched nine seasons in the bigs with a lifetime ERA of 4.40 following his 23rd round selection by the Cubs. He played four seasons with the Royals and pitched in one game of the 1984 ALCS – a loss to Detroit. He was on Kansas City's roster in 1985 when the Royals won the World Series, but didn't participate in the postseason.

Jim Deidel was a pitcher drafted in 1967's 15th round and played two MLB games with the New York Yankees in 1974

No other player drafted from CSU ever made it out of the minor leagues.

Baseball-Reference.com and BaseballCube.com say Greg Riddoch was drafted four times as an infielder in the 1960s out of CSU, but that's an error. He played for Colorado State College — now known as the University of Northern Colorado. He did attend CSU in the early 1980s for his master's degree in educational administration.

Riddoch never progressed beyond Double-A ball, yet still had a respectable career in baseball, managing the San Diego Padres from 1990-92. Riddoch, 69, retired from baseball last year after serving as the Tampa Bay Rays team psychologist. He said Tuesday that after 47 years in baseball, it was time to focus on family and watch his grandchildren grow up.

Felix "Tippy" Martinez was probably the greatest Ram to play in the MLB, winning a World Series with the Baltimore Orioles in 1983, but reached professional status by signing as an undrafted free agent out of college in 1972 with the New York Yankees. Martinez was drafted out of La Junta High School, but elected to continue his education.

Also signed as a free agent was former CSU pitcher Cisco Carlos 1961. He worked his way up from Low-D ball to playing four seasons in the bigs, wrapping up his MLB career with the Washington Senators in 1970. After leaving the majors, Carlos played three seasons with the Denver Bears.

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Another name Fort Collins fans will probably recognize is Frank Gonzales, the former baseball coach at Fort Collins High School and father of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Marco Gonzales. The current manager of the Boise Hawks (the Rockies' short season Single-A affiliate) was selected in the 16th round of the 1989 draft by Detroit and spent 10 seasons in the minor league circuit, including independent ball.

Nathan Nowicki, a former member of CSU's national championship club baseball team, was drafted in the 16th round by the Florida Marlins in 2003.

For insight and analysis on athletics around Northern Colorado and the Mountain West, follow sports columnist Matt L. Stephens at twitter.com/mattstephens and facebook.com/stephensreporting. Historical stats courtesy of www.baseball-reference.com.

CSU baseball players drafted

Player Year Drafted By Round Nathan Nowicki* 2003 Marlins 19 Frank Gonzales 1989 Tigers 16 Craig Juran 1988 Pirates 47 Rick Keen 1987 Reds 33 Mark Knudson 1982 Astros 3 Cori Ryan 1980 Dodgers 27 Jack Upton 1979 Cubs 14 Mark Huismann 1979 Cubs 23 Glenn Goya 1977 Giants 9 James Sullivan 1973 Yankees 13 James Ziegler 1968 Mets 12 John Blanchard 1968 Orioles 28 Bruce Finkbeiner 1968 White Sox 28 Ronald Zubler 1967 Indians 8 Bob Mewes 1966 White Sox 11

*—Played for CSU club team

Source: Baseball-Reference.com