Hjerpe drafted, first of many Beavers heading to the MLB this year

OMN+Sports

OMN Sports

Pitcher Cooper Hjerpe has made it official and is moving on to the major leagues, along with teammates Jacob Melton, Justin Boyd, and Will Frisch. 

Prospected to be 34th, Hjerpe was selected by the St Louis Cardinals in the first round and the 22nd overall pick in the 2022 MLB draft. 

Oregon State has already produced many other first round picks in the MLB draft in the past, with many of these players having been selected by the Cardinals. 

Hjerpe joined the group of now 13 Beavers to be drafted in the first round of the MLB draft, and 11 Beavers who went on to join the Cardinals after their time at Oregon State. 

The sophomore at Oregon State graduated from Woodland High School in Capay, California, and pitched 3 seasons for the Beavers. 

Hjerpe made his first start at Oregon State versus Gonzaga during the 2020 season and pitched 41 games, 33 starts, for the Beavers. 

Outfielder Jacob Melton joins Hjerpe in the MLB as a second round draft. Melton was picked 64th by the Houston Astros. The Oregon native is now one of 9 Beavers to be selected by the Astros. 

Melton, like his teammate Hjerpe, also played 3 seasons for the Beavers. He started in 102 games and this year tied the Oregon State single season record of 83 runs batted in. 

Drafted 73rd overall by the Cincinnati Reds was outfielder Justin Boyd. The Colorado native made a total of 89 starts for the Beavers, 62 of his starts were made during the 2022 season. 

During the 2022 season, Boyd was named Pac-12 All-Defensive Team, All Pac-12 Honorable Mention, NCBWA Second Team All-American, ABCA All-Region Second Team, and also led the Pac-12 in stolen bases this year. 

The overall 173rd pick in the draft was Will Frisch who was selected by the Chicago Cubs. The right handed pitcher has been drafted before in 2019 by Minnesota and did not sign. He did not play during the 2022 season, but was selected for All-Pac-12 First Team in 2021. 

During their time in Corvallis, school records were made by both Hjerpe who now leads Oregon State in most all time strikeouts of 161 batters, while Melton has the current record with 175 bases in one season. 

Both Hjerpe and Melton both were on the roster for the Beavers for 3 seasons spanning from 2020 until 2022. During the 2022 season, both players made NCBWA First-Team All-American, ABCA First Team All-American, Perfect Game First Team All-American, Collegiate Baseball First Team All-American, ABCA All-Region First Team, and All-Pac-12 First Team. 

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