FMU’s Josh Edgin taken by Braves in MLB Draft

Francis Marion University junior left-handed pitcher Josh Edgin was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 50th round of Major League Baseball’s 2009 First-Year Player Draft, Thursday (June 11).

Edgin was selected as the seventh pick in the 50th round (No. 1498 overall). A total of approximately 1,521 players were selected.

Edgin, a native of Three Springs, Pa., posted a 4-2 record this past season with a 4.04 earned run average. He appeared in 16 games, making 11 starts, and struck out 57 batters in 69 innings. Opponents batted .234 against him.

His two best starts may have been the final two of the season. He allowed only three hits and one run in seven innings while fanning nine in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament championship game, leading FMU to the title and earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Four days later, he tossed a two-hit shutout (5-0 FMU win) against nationally ranked Tusculum College in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Southest Regional.

Edgin has the option of signing with the Braves or returning to Francis Marion for his senior year.

Edgin is the eighth FMU player to be drafted over the past eight years, joining senior center fielder Justin Greene, selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 20th round (No. 600), and junior right-handed pitcher David Walters, picked by the Atlanta Braves in the 47th round (No. 1412) of the 2008 draft; right-handed pitcher Dylan Owen, chosen by the New York Mets in the 20th round (No. 633 overall) of the 2007 draft; left-handed pitcher Lee Tabor, taken by the Cincinnati Reds in the 30th round (No. 894 overall) of the 2006 draft; center fielder Quentin Davis, chosen by the Atlanta Braves in the 13th round of the 2005 draft; right-handed pitcher Erin Jones, chosen in the 31st round of the 2004 draft by the New York Mets; and left-handed pitcher Hal Chafey, chosen by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 20th round of the 2002 draft.

Francis Marion posted a 38-15-1 record in 2009 and finished second during the PBC regular season, won the PBC Tournament title, and earned its fourth NCAA Division II national tournament bid in the past seven years, placing third at the Southeast Regional. The Patriots were ranked 14th in the final 2009 Collegiate Baseball Magazine NCAA Division II Top 30 poll.