Pitcher Jeff Criswell leads four Michigan players to go in MLB Draft

Michigan right-hander Jeff Criswell fulfilled a goal and followed his father’s footsteps into pro baseball, and was the first of four Wolverines taken in the MLB Draft.

Criswell was selected in the second round (No. 58 overall) by Oakland on Thursday in the second and final day of the MLB Draft. Outfielders Jordan Nwogu and Jesse Franklin were third-round picks. Nwogu went to the Cubs as the No. 88 pick overall and Franklin was selected by Atlanta with the 97th pick. Colorado took shortstop Jack Blomgren in the fifth round with the No. 140 pick

Michigan commit Owen Caissie out of Notre Dame Catholic in Ontario, Canada, was the 45th pick taken by San Diego on Thursday.

The draft shrunk from 40 rounds to five this year as a cost-cutting measure resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. First-round selections were made Wednesday night.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Criswell, who played for Portage Central before heading to Michigan, said this week he always wanted to be a professional baseball player, like his father Brian. Brian Criswell, who played for Western Michigan, was a 17th-round selection in 1984, also by Oakland.

He was the highest-rated Michigan player in the draft and the first selected. Michigan had five players taken in 2019, not long before the Wolverines finished runners-up to Vanderbilt in the College World Series. 

Former major-league pitcher Kyle Peterson, an ESPN analyst during draft coverage, liked the A’s pick.

“If you’re Oakland, you’re looking at a proven collegiate starter,” Peterson said of Criswell. “Obviously did it at the biggest level. He’s a guy that pitched in the biggest spots last year for Michigan. I don’t think there’s a lot of risk.”

Criswell pitched in relief last year in the World Series, and Chris Burke, a former major leaguer on the ESPN broadcast, said his versatility makes him a strong pick.

“With Criswell you get somebody who definitely has some sort of trajectory as a starter, but what he’s also shown in two-plus years at Michigan is that he has a durable arm and that he is legit out of the bullpen,” Burke said during draft coverage. “So you have a pitcher that if he doesn’t work as a starter you have to groom as a reliever, he already can pitch out of the bullpen and he has proven that consistently.”

Nwogu, a Michigan outfielder, considers himself a “raw” baseball talent with plenty of room to grow and develop at the professional level.

Nwogu was a football standout at Ann Arbor Pioneer who opted to pursue baseball.

At 6-foot-3, 235 pounds, Nwogu is a combination of power and speed. Before the season was canceled after 15 games because of the pandemic, Nwogu, the team’s leadoff hitter, was batting .353, best on the team, with a .456 slugging percentage. He started the 2020 season with an eight-game hitting streak and had two home runs.

“He’s a freak of nature, big, fast and can run,” Criswell said this week. “He has all the tools that make up the ideal professional player. I’ve watched him grow like myself, and he continued to improve over his three years at Michigan. He’s an incredible talent and continued to get better every year that he’s been at Michigan. Nothing but love and respect. He’s been one of my best buddies.”

Nwogu, an All-Big Ten first-team selection last season as a designated hitter, finished 2019 with a .321 batting average and led the team with 58 runs scored, a .557 slugging percentage and .435 on-base percentage.

He considers himself a raw talent because he was more of a football player in high school who loved playing in the football games but found himself drawn to every aspect of baseball, including practices. Nwogu arrived at Michigan eager to learn about the game and be shaped into a baseball player.

“I learned how to be a ballplayer instead of just an athlete playing baseball,” Nwogu said.

At the professional level he knows he has plenty to continue learning. But the upside is there.

“I feel like I’m pretty raw,” Nwogu said. “I feel like a football player playing baseball but to a lesser extent.”

Franklin, a Seattle native originally drafted in 2017 by the Mariners in the 37th round, did not play this season while recovering from a broken collarbone. The left-handed hitter was a College World Series All-Tournament selection last year. 

During his Michigan career, the 6-1, 215-pound Franklin had 23 home runs and 102 RBI in 115 games. 

Blomgren, a 5-10, 180-pound junior, was leading the team with a .444 on-base percentage this season when it was cut short and had six stolen bases in seven attempts. Blomgren was second-team All-Big Ten last season and made the College World Series All-Tournament team.

This was expected to be another strong Michigan team to challenge for the national championship, but the season was canceled after the Wolverines had played 15 games. Criswell was off to a good start and started four games as Michigan’s Friday night starter.

He finished the season 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA and held opponents to a .205 batting average. Criswell struck out 26 in 24 innings.

In 2019, Criswell was All-Big Ten first team after appearing in 22 games with 17 starts. Criswell finished 2019 with a 2.72 ERA and a 7-1 record. He struck out 116 in 106 innings and allowed 17 extra-base hits. He made his college debut in 2018 and led the Wolverines with 24 appearances.

During his time at Michigan, he said his game grew considerably because of the competition and coaches.

More:UM's Jeff Criswell, Jordan Nwogu ready to start 'new chapter' with MLB draft on deck

“Reflecting on my time at Michigan as a whole, one thing I’ve come to the realization is that I’ve always been surrounded by people who in some sense were better than me both academically and athletically,” Criswell told The Detroit News this week. “Whether it was the competition within my class, the older guys, the coaches, their knowledge of the game, I was constantly surrounded by some of the brightest and best young minds in baseball. (Pitching) Coach (Chris) Fetter has an incredible knowledge for the game, and he was an integral part of helping me develop throughout college.”

Vanderbilt faced Michigan and Criswell in the 2019 College World Series finals.

“He’s got a heavy fastball that moves in on left-handers and away from right-handers,” Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin said on the MLB Network draft broadcast. “He’s a bull on the mound and is versatile, and could be in the bullpen or pitch as a starter.”

achengelis@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @chengelis