Pittsburgh, PA (PTTP) – Two former University of Pittsburgh baseball players are heading to the World Baseball Classic in March.
R.J. Freure, from Burlington, Ontario in Canada, played as a pitcher for the Pitt Panthers baseball team in 2017 as a freshman and 2018 as a sophomore. Freue only attended Pitt for two years to then be drafted in 2018 by the Houston Astros in the 6th round. He was able to be drafted as a sophomore because in Major League Baseball, there are three requirements.
A player can be drafted if they go straight from high school, are a junior or senior or at least 21 years of age, or are a junior college player. R.J. Freure was only 20 years old, however, if you are going to be turning 21 within 45 days of the draft, you can be eligible.
Derek West was a pitcher from Orange City, Florida and played for the Pittsburgh Panthers baseball team from 2016 to 2019. In 2018, West was drafted by the Atlanta Braves, but he decided to decline. He chose to play college baseball for one more year before getting drafted in 2019 by the Houston Astros.
Both men are heading to the World Baseball Classic coming up this March. R.J. Freure will be representing his home country Canada, while Derek West will be representing the Netherlands. In the first round, West is a part of group A and will play March 8 to March 12 in Taichung, Taiwan against Panama, Italy, Chinese Taipei, and Cuba. Freure is a part of group C and will play March 11 to March 15 in Phoenix, AZ against the US, Mexico, Great Britain, and Columbia. For more information, and to see the other groups in the first round in the World Baseball Classic, go to: https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic.
