Nicholls’ Delatte drafted by the Blue Jays in the fifth round of MLB Draft

Nicholls State senior left-handed relief pitcher Brad Delatte said he grew up dreaming of becoming a professional baseball player.

That fantasy is now reality – Delatte is officially on the proverbial road of the show.

Delatte was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the fifth round (175th pick overall) in last week’s MLB Draft.

With the early selection, Delatte is now the second-highest Colonel to ever be picked in baseball’s draft, lagging only behind Scott Sanders, who was the 32nd overall pick in the 1990 Draft.

“When I first heard that I was drafted, there was just a little bit of shock, a little bit of disbelief and a whole lot of excitement,” Delatte said. “I’ve been wanting to do this for pretty much my whole life, so to finally be given that opportunity, it’s just so exciting to me. … To tell you the truth, I don’t know if it’s fully sunk in yet.”

Delatte lands in the professional ranks after a solid career in Thibodaux, anchoring the back-end of Nicholls’ bullpen.

In the final three seasons of his career, Delatte was either Nicholls’ closer or among its top relievers, recording several key outs late in critical ballgames.

Those outs helped the Colonels climb from the bottom of the Southland Conference to its current ascent to the middle of the pack within the league.

Being such a vital part of the team’s climb is something Delatte said he’d never forget.

“It’s been a long road for us,” Delatte said. “It’s just nice to know that collectively as a group, we did a lot of things to take the university from where it was from a baseball standpoint to where it’s at now.”

Team goals aside, Delatte really started to shine because of his individual talents during his senior season in Thibodaux.

In his final Colonels’ campaign, Delatte posted a 2.86 ERA in 31 relief appearance (34.2 innings), allowing opponents to hit for just an anemic .198 batting average against him for the season.

The lefty was especially tough on lefty hitters, recording several crucial outs for Nicholls down the stretch of the season in its quest to push to reach the Southland Conference Tournament – a run that ended one game short.

“I’ll always be disappointed that we came up short in that last run that we made,” Delatte said.

But with his college career complete, Delatte said he quickly turned he has turned his attention to the professional level.

The pitcher said he knew he was going to be picked in last week’s draft, but he had “no idea” it would be in the draft’s early rounds.

“From everything that I heard, I was going to be picked somewhere in the mid-to-late rounds,” Delatte said. “Then, I got a call on the second day and I was told that there was a really good chance that I could go even earlier than that.”

The pitcher said his advisor told him he’d “likely be Toronto’s guy” a few minutes before the Blue Jays were on the clock. He added that a regional scout from the team confirmed it a few minutes later – a phone call Delatte said he will never forget.

“About 10 or 20 minutes after the pick was made, the Blue Jays called and congratulated me and everything,” Delatte said. “I think I didn’t really realize that this was real until they called and told me what was happening.

“To tell you the truth, they didn’t even really tell me much of anything about what they liked about me as a pitcher or why they picked me. They just told me that they liked my fastball velocity and that’s about it. From talking with people since then, I’ve learned that they liked that I was a lefty who is good facing other lefties and that I have a really good breaking ball.”

With the pick in place, Delatte will not have time to wallow in his achievement – the pitcher is already working on his craft with the Blue Jays.

Delatte said he traveled to Tampa this past weekend and started his rookie ball work with the team.

Once he completes that preliminary month, the pitcher will be keeping his eyes on Bluefield, WV, which is the home of the Blue Jays’ Single-A affiliate.

From there, he’d likely have to make stops in Vancouver, Lansing, Mi., New Hampshire and Las Vegas to reach the big league club.

Whether that happens remains to be seen.

For now, just being able to call himself a professional baseball player is good enough for the Nicholls lefty.

“I tell you what man, that’s just an unbelievable feeling – I don’t even know how to explain it,” Delatte said when asked how it feels to be a pro. “It’s been a long road to get where I’m at now. I’ve made a lot of sacrifices and I’ve put a lot of hard work in to reach this level. And this accomplishment is all about the good people behind me pushing me to get where I need to be.

“I guess now is when the real work starts.”

LSU

Last week’s MLB Draft wasn’t just a joyous time for Delatte – several LSU players also heard their names called during the three-day event.

The first Tiger picked was no surprise – sophomore righty Kevin Gausman.

After one of the most dominant seasons in recent memory in Baton Rouge, the Baltimore Orioles rewarded Gausman by making him the fourth overall selection in the draft.

Gausman earned his position after posting an 11-1 record with a dominant 2.72 ERA, while also being among the SEC leaders in strikeouts and WHIP.

A Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist, Gausman became the Tigers’ 16th first-round selection and 13th first rounder since 1989. His selection also marks the fourth-straight year the Tigers see one of their own picked in the first round (Jared Mitchell, 2009, Anthony Ranaudo, 2010, Mikie Mahtook, 2011).

The powerful right-handed ace will join former LSU great Ben McDonald as the only Tigers to ever be picked in the Top 5 of the draft.

McDonald was the first overall selection in 1989. Coincidentally enough, the Orioles also drafted him.

Gausman still has two collegiate years of eligibility if he were to opt to return to school, but multiple reports state he will almost undoubtedly turn pro following LSU’s season.

“When Kevin Gausman gets the ball you like your chances,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. “Kevin has great stuff and deserves all of the accolades he gets just based on his ability. He is a different pitcher this year. He has this innate ability to raise his game to a different level when he needs to.”

With Gausman off the board, a couple other Tigers were picked in the top rounds of the MLB Draft.

Senior shortstop Austin Nola was picked in the fifth round (167 overall) by the Florida Marlins.

Known for his stellar defense and timely hitting, Nola raises his draft stock dramatically after being a 31st round pick in 2011.

Just one round later, LSU junior closer Nick Goody came off the board, as the New York Yankees nabbed him with the 217th overall pick.

A junior college transfer, Goody has emerged as one of the elite closers in the SEC in his first year in Baton Rouge.

He recorded road saves against Florida and South Carolina and also recorded the final outs of LSU’s regional win against Oregon State.

The Yankees also dipped into the Tigers’ draft pool in the later rounds and picked LSU outfielder Raph Rhymes in the 30th round (937th overall).

A .450-hitter with more than 50 RBI, a lot of analysts were perplexed about why Rhymes was not selected higher in the draft.

With one year of eligibility remaining, the junior announced on Twitter immediately following his selection that he is returning for his senior season.

“Huge honor to be drafted by the Yankees,” Rhymes’ tweet reads. “Not ready to leave just yet tho… staying at LSU to make a run at it again next year.”

Rounding out the Tigers’ selections was senior third baseman Tyler Hanover, who was a 33rd round pick (1,024th overall) of the Detroit Tigers.

In addition to current Tigers, a lot of possible future LSU players were also picked in last week’s draft.

Infielder/right-handed pitcher Joey Gallo was a first-round pick (39th overall) of the Texas Rangers.

Fellow infielder Jesmuel Valentin was also a first rounder and was rewarded with the 51st pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Outfielder Hayden Jennings (6th round, 204th overall, Washington Nationals), Will LaMarche (18th round, 550th overall, Minnesota Twins) and Alex Bregman (29th round, 901st overall, Boston Red Sox) were also picked.

Those players have until mid-July to decide whether to enroll at LSU or begin their pro careers.

Nicholls State pitcher Brad Delatte fires a pitch during a game this season. Delatte will continue his pitching career with the Toronto Blue Jays organization, as the pitcher was selected in the fifth round of the MLB Draft.

LISA NEAL PHOTOGRAPHY