FAU pitcher Austin Gomber drafted in fourth round, headed to St. Louis

Andrew Ramey, Contributing Writer|June 7, 2014

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Michelle Friswell

Austin Gomber was part of a very solid FAU pitching staff this year. He’ll start minor league ball this summer. [Photo by Michelle Friswell]

Update: This story originally said that Gomber would start off in the Caridnal’s farm system playing for their Double A affiliate, the Springfield Cardinals. He’ll actually begin his professional with the State College Spikes, a Single A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. 

With the 135th pick of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft, the St. Louis Cardinals took FAU left-handed pitcher Austin Gomber this afternoon.

Gomber was the ace of an Owls’ pitching staff that was very solid this season. The Winter Garden, Fla. native has a career earned run average of 3.27, and in 244 total innings he amassed 238 strikeouts.

He has three very solid pitches. His fastball can hit the low 90s and he locates it well. He stands at 6-foot-5, a frame that helps add some life to his fastball — he can add a downward angle to his pitches which may mean added velocity.

The second pitch is his slider, which he uses to jam batters. His third (and probably best) pitch is a changeup. Gomber has good delivery with these pitches and knows how to locate them.

Still, he saw his share of struggles this year. Playing through his worst season as an Owl, Gomber’s record stood at 3-6 in 12 starts with three no decisions. (A no decision is when you leave the game too early for the win, or your team loses the lead that it had when you left the game.) He also allowed a batting average of .257, the highest of his career.

On the bright side, the four home runs he surrendered are a career low. This season, Gomber had an ERA of 3.26, only slightly higher than his remarkable 2.97 ERA in the 2012-2013 season. He struck out 72 batters and walked only 15.

Gomber expressed both gratitude and excitement in a tweet he sent out almost immediately after the news of his selection broke.

Last year, the Owls only had one player drafted and it was much later in the process. Michael Sylvestri went to the Washington Nationals with the 886th pick in the 29th round.

Andrew Ramey is a contributor to the University Press who also helps out at OWL TV. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ramey_andrew31.