7 (213): @Yankees select Oregon (OR) P Robert Ahlstrom. https://t.co/DEcomqSB54 #MLBDraft
— MLB Draft Tracker (@MLBDraftTracker) July 12, 2021
With the 213th pick of the MLB draft, the New York Yankees select … Robert Ahlstrom from the University of Oregon.
That’s how it would have sounded if the baseball draft was similar to the NFL and NBA drafts.
Ahlstrom was picked in the seventh round of the MLB draft after a stellar junior season as a Duck. The North Eugene High graduate finished 2021 with a 9-3 record and a 2.50 earned run average to go along with 92 strikeouts in 90 innings pitched.
In his last appearance in a Duck uniform, Ahlstrom pitched Oregon into the Regional title series by going eight innings, giving up three runs in the 7-3 victory over Gonzaga.
This is what Baseball America had to say about the Oregon left-hander:
He struggled in the truncated 2020 season, but has taken a step forward in 2021… Ahlstrom isn’t flashy, with a fastball that sits 88-89 mph and tops out at 92, but he consistently throws the pitch for strikes. The same is true of his curveball and changeup, which are both average offerings, and he commands all three pitches effectively.
The Yankees were counting on Ahlstrom’s control and experience instead of a flashy gun for an arm. He’s not going to light up the radar gun, but neither did Tom Glavine and things worked out fairly well for that Hall of Famer.