KU baseball players Walz, Heere, Blankenship taken in MLB Draft

Add three more Kansas University baseball players to the list of Jayhawks taken in the 2010 major-league draft.

On Wednesday, senior Travis Blankenship was taken in the 31st round by the Houston Astros, junior Brian Heere was selected in the 41st round by the Cleveland Indians, and junior T.J. Walz was picked up in the 50th round by the Oakland Athletics.

That makes seven Jayhawks total selected in this year’s draft. The others: Tony Thompson (sixth round, Oakland), Robby Price (13th round, Tampa Bay), Brett Bochy (20th round, San Francisco), Cameron Selik (22nd round, Washington).

Blankenship, a left-handed pitcher and former Free State High standout, has led the Jayhawks in appearances each of the last two seasons. He went 1-5 this season with a 5.96 earned-run average in 34 games with a save and 51 strikeouts in 451/3 innings.

Heere, a center fielder and former Lawrence High standout, led the Jayhawks with a .393 batting average this season with 13 doubles, six homers and 52 RBIs in 59 games.

Walz, a right-handed pitcher from Omaha, Neb., went 8-6 with a 5.06 ERA in 15 starts this past spring.