O'Dowd Selected in 23rd Round of MLB Draft by San Diego Padres

HANOVER, N.H. — Dartmouth catcher Chris O’Dowd was selected by the San Diego Padres with the seventh pick of the 23rd round (705th pick overall) of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday evening. The switch-hitting junior from Cherry Hills Village, Colo., is the second Big Green player taken in the draft this year, the ninth in the last seven years and 29th player overall chosen out of Dartmouth.

A power-hitting backstop with good speed, O’Dowd overcame a slow start to his 2012 campaign by hitting .300 over the final 17 games with a .417 on-base percentage, 18 runs and 12 RBIs. The son of Colorado Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd finished the season batting .239 with seven doubles, a triple and one home run while leading the team with eight stolen bases in nine attempts. For his career, he sports a .315 average in 116 games with 27 doubles, six triples, 14 home runs, 107 runs scored, 64 RBIs and 60 walks to account for his .408 on-base percentage and .505 slugging percentage. O’Dowd was an All-New England first-team pick as a sophomore and the Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Year in 2010.

Yesterday, senior Joe Sclafani was selected in the 14th round by the Houston Astros, giving Dartmouth two picks in the same draft for the first time since 2008 when outfielder Damon Wright and left-hander Russell Young were taken in the 25th and 28th rounds, respectively. The Big Green have had at least one player taken in the draft in each of the past five years, and head coach Bob Whalen has now had 17 players picked during his 23-year tenure.