When Vanderbilt — one of the main collegiate pipelines for the Detroit Tigers’ farm system — faced Georgia Tech in a winner-take-all game in the 2013 regional championship game, it was eventual Tigers draft pick Buck Farmer that the Commodores bested that day.

But it was Farmer’s teammate, Josh Heddinger, who’d put the Rambling Wreck in the position to play that game, pitching a complete-game, two-hit shutout of the Commodores a day earlier, forcing the if-necessary contest.

They could soon be teammates again, as Heddinger reportedly reached a deal Tuesday with the Tigers after he was drafted in the 14th round of last weekend’s draft. MLBpipeline.com’s Jim Callis reported he signed for $100,000.

Farmer went in the fifth round of last year’s draft, and has been part of the exceptional rotation at the Tigers’ Class A West Michigan affiliate.

While Heddinger has a similar build — 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds — and delivery to his former college teammate, he had far less consistent success on the collegiate level, going just 10-9 with a 4.85 ERA in 27 career starts at Georgia Tech. His junior season was not exceptional, either, as he went 4-5 with a 4.04 ERA, walking 33 and striking out 64 in 82 1/3 innings pitched.

He's not unused to pitching in big games, though. Heddinger started the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title game as a freshman, a year to the day after leading Buford High to the Georgia Class AA state championship.

West Bloomfield's Dazon Cole was drafted by the Braves in Round 29 of the MLB Draft on Saturday, at the same
time as he was finishing off his high school career with a loss in regionals. Cole is a Central Michigan University
commit. (The Oakland Press/PATRICK McINTYRE)

A dozen players with ties to Oakland County schools, or Michigan colleges were drafted in the three days of the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft, most of them on the final day Saturday.

Round/Pick.....Player, school.............................................Drafting team 
5/152................Jordan Foley, Central Michigan RHP..........Yankees [STORY]
6/195...............Andrew Sohn, Western Michigan SS*..........Cardinals [STORY]
13/391.............Matt Trowbridge, Central Michigan LHP.....Orioles [STORY]
14/424.............James Borque, Univ. of Michigan RHP........Nationals
15/455.............Jimmy Pickens, Michigan State RF*.............Reds
16/489.............Devan Ahart, University of Akron*..............Dodgers
20/610.............Trent Szkutnik, Univ. of Michigan LHP.......Tigers
23/682..............Joel Fisher, Michigan State C*.....................Phillies
27/815..............Jake Paulson, Oakland University RHP*.....Reds
29/883..............Dazon Cole, West Bloomfield HS RHP*....Braves [STORY]
31/940.............Grant Reuss, Cranbrook Kingswood LHP*.Tigers
34/1030...........Sammy Stevens, Brother Rice HS C*..........Tigers
39/1178...........Jake Morton, Oakland University RHP.........Indians

* — Andrew Sohn is a Bloomfield Hills native, and a graduate of Brother Rice HS
Jimmy Pickens is a graduate of Brother Rice HS
Devan Ahart is a graduate of Orchard Lake St. Mary’s School
Joel Fisher is a Farmington Hills native, and a graduate of Farmington HS
Jake Paulson is a graduate of Walled Lake Central HS
Dazon Cole is a Pontiac native

Western Michigan University shortstop Andrew Sohn, a Birmingham Brother Rice graduate, was selected by
the St. Louis Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2014 MLB Draft.
(Photo courtesy of WMUBroncos.com)

Bloomfield Hills native and Brother Rice graduate Andrew Sohn was the only local player selected on the MLB Draft’s first two days.

Sohn was undrafted out of high school, but picked in the sixth round by the St. Louis Cardinals after leading WMU in hitting (.323) as a junior. He was the highest pick for a Western Michigan player since 2008.

“I am excited and can’t wait to get started with the best organization in the Major Leagues,” Sohn said in a release on the Broncos web site. “I want to thank all of my coaches and teammates along the way, as well as my family. It was an amazing experience playing at Western Michigan University and under Coach Gernon. I really matured and grew during the time I was there, and want to thank the coaches again for all the time they put in to make us better. Also, I couldn’t have asked for a better group of guys than my teammates to share my college career with.”

Sohn was first-team All-Mid-American Conference as a sophomore and, after being a preseason selection for MAC Player of the Year by Baseball America, was a second-team All-MAC honoree.

After going away from their normal modus operandi of selecting power arms by taking a high school position player in the first round, the Tigers went right back to the norm in the second round, tabbing Alabama right-hander Spencer Turnbull with the 63rd overall pick.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder features a fastball that sits in the mid-90s (hitting as high as 98 mph) making him profile as a guy who might end up in the bullpen in the future. He also has a slider that could develop into a better-than-average pitch, and a change-up, so he could remain as a starter, as well.

Despite pitching for one of the state of Mississippi's powerhouse prep programs, Madison Central, Turnbull was not drafted out of high school. He limited opponents to a .192 batting average against this season with the Crimson Tide, posting a 2.22 ERA, striking out 61 in 93 1/3 innings pitched as a junior. But he also walked 47, plunked 13, and tossed nine wild pitches, so control is not necessarily a strong suit.

Photo courtesy of MLB
Derek Hill (front) and his mother share a moment of happiness
after the Tigers picked Hill 23rd overall in Thursday's
first round of the draft.

A guest at the New Jersey MLB Draft headquarters for Thursday’s proceedings, high school center fielder Derek Hill was asked his favorite player. 

He did not hesitate in his answer, naming Detroit Tigers right fielder Torii Hunter, the nine-time Gold Glove winner.

When — and if — Hill signs, he’ll be in the same organization.

[PHOTO GALLERY]

The Tigers selected the speedster from Elk Grove High School in California with the 23rd pick in the first round of the MLB Draft.

A University of Oregon recruit, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Hill is one of the fastest players in the draft, running a sub-6.4-second 60-yard dash, and is the best defensive outfielder. His father, Orsino, a former minor-league player, is an area scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“My dad tells me to be humble and to appreciate this,” Hill told the Sacramento Bee. “I’ve been around the game my entire life, so I know how to act, what to say. It was a little more nerve-wracking at first for games but I just did the best I could, but it’s been an absolute blast. We’re almost there. Can’t wait.”

Several of the Tigers’ other favorite prospects — UNLV starter Erick Fedde, Virginia closer Nick Howard, TCU lefty Brandon Finnegan, Wichita St. first baseman Casey Gillaspie — went in the picks right before Detroit’s.

The Tigers have only drafted 23rd overall once before, in 1979, selecting Livonia High’s Chris Baker, as a compensatory pick for losing free agent Jim Slaton to the Brewers.

Detroit picks next at No. 63 in the second round. [UPDATED STORY]

After grabbing Big Ten MVP Jeff Holm from Michigan State on Tuesday, you had to kind of wonder if Spartan head coach Jake Boss was picking for the Tigers Wednesday in the MLB First-Year Player Draft the way the final day's picks played out.

After an emphasis on college position players from power conferences — four SEC players and two Big 12 players among their first nine picks — the Tigers stayed college-heavy on Day 3, raiding the state’s schools.

The Tigers took two Western Michigan pitchers and another from Central Michigan.

But the biggest run was on Spartans. Following up with the pick of Holm in the 12th round Tuesday, the Tigers grabbed team defensive MVP Brandon Eckerle (right), the Big Ten batting champ and the program’s all-time hit leader, in Wednesday’s 32nd round.

The Tigers also took a trio of future Spartans — commits Blaise Salter (Orchard Lake St. Mary’s), Ryan Krill (Portage Central) and Jimmy Pickens (Birmingham Brother Rice) — on Wednesday. Salter (right) is the grandson of Tigers legend Bill Freehan.

They weren’t done with local talent, either, grabbing Madison Heights Lamphere catcher Greg Fettes (below, right), a Kentucky commit, in the 43rd round.

After that, there were several legacy picks, as the Tigers nabbed Nick Avila — the nephew of assistant GM Al Avila — Kansas high schooler Tucker Chadd — the nephew of VP of Amateur Scouting David Chadd — and Alexander Fernandez — the son of former White Sox and Marlins pitcher Alex Fernandez, who earned a World Series ring with Tigers manager Jim Leyland and GM Dave Dombrowski in Florida in 1997.

The Tigers also drafted the progeny of both members of their Fox Sports Detroit TV crew, tabbing Rod Allen’s son, Andrew, in Round 45, and play-by-play man Mario Impemba’s son, Brett, with their next-to-last pick.

Round Player Position School
31 (947), Brian Stroud, RHP, Western Michigan
32 (977), Brandon Eckerle, CF, Michigan State
33 (1007), Daniel Kickham, RHP, Missouri State
34 (1037), Zachary Maggard, C, Florida Southern
35 (1067), Eric Heckaman, RHP, Western Michigan
36 (1097), Jake Sabol, RHP, Central Michigan (De La Salle)
37 (1127), Nick Avila, RHP, Nova Southeastern
38 (1157), Blaise Salter, C, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s HS
39 (1187), Cole Brocker, RHP, Sacramento City CC
40 (1217), Ryan Krill, 1B, Portage Central HS
41 (1247), Jimmy Pickens, OF/C, Birmingham Brother Rice
42 (1277), Tucker Chadd, C, Bishop Carroll Catholic HS (KS)
43 (1307), Greg Fettes, C, Madison Heights Lamphere HS
44 (1337), Chretien Matz, OF, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
45 (1367), Andrew Allen, 1B, Cal-State Los Angeles
46 (1397), Alexander Fernandez, OF, Archbishop McCarthy HS (FL)
47 (1427), Ryan McPhail, C, Dutch Fork HS (SC)
48 (1457), Lavaris McCullough, CF, Palatka HS (FL)
49 (1487), Brett Impemba, C, Macomb Dakota HS
50 (1517), Brandon Weber, OF, Bishop Carroll Catholic (KS)

DAY THREE PLAYER CAPSULES
Brian Stroud, 6-4, 215, redshirt junior
Was 8-4, 3.20 ERA, 101.1 IP 74/25 K-BB ratio as a senior. Was named second-team All-MAC. (missed most of junior season with injury). Went 6-0 as a freshman to earn MAC Freshman of the Year honors.

Brandon Eckerle, 6-0, 175, senior
Corunna HS grad. Started every game (164) in center for Spartans in past three seasons. Left MSU as all-time hits leader (261), and second in runs scored (158). Hit .360 as a junior, .379 as a senior to win Big Ten batting title. Voted team’s Defensive Player of the Year. First-team All-Big Ten (along with 1B Holm [Player of Year], Torsten Boss, P Kurt Wunderlich [POY] and P Tony Bucciferro). Earned Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor and Chester Brewer Leadership Award.

Daniel Kickham, 6-4, 205, junior
Twin brother, Mike, was a sixth-round pick of SF Giants last year.
Relief pitcher (25 app.) with a 1.84 ERA, 29.1 IP, 24 K/16 BB, .192 BA against.

Zachary Maggard, 6-0, 195, senior
Hit .291 with 13-2B, 9 HR, 26 RBI, threw out 11 of 24 attempted base stealers. Teammate of Tigers 26th-round pick Colin Kaline.

Eric Heckaman, 6-2, 215, senior
Converted to a reliever in 2011, and went 2-4 with a 1.64 ERA in 21 appearances, 24 K/20 BB ratio, .270 BA against. Went 0-9 as a junior with an 8.91 ERA as a starter, logging the most innings of any WMU pitcher. Hard luck loser, though. Had a no-hitter through 10 vs. EMU in April, before losing in the 11th.

Jake Sabol, 6-5, 225, senior
Was 5-3 for MAC West champ Chippewas with a 4.13 ERA in 80.2 IP. Had 53/13 K-BB ratio. Had 3 CG, two shutouts. A graduate of Warren De La Salle.

Nick Avila, 6-2, 220, senior
Was 5-1 with 3.83 ERA in 94.0 IP, 50/15 K-BB ratio, .304 BA against for Division II Nova Southeastern, which made its first NCAA postseason appearance in 2011. Is the nephew of Tigers assistant GM Al Avila, the cousin of starting catcher Alex Avila.

Blaise Salter, 6-5, 225, HS senior
Grandson of Tigers great and former Michigan coach Bill Freehan, Salter is signed to play at Michigan State. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound cather was ranked the No. 5 player in Michigan after all-state first team selection in junior season, hitting .410 with four HR and 41 RBI.

Cole Brocker, 6-3, 205, sophomore
Was 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 13 relief appearances for the Panthers. Had a 24-4 K-BB ratio and a .138 BA against. Teammate Kyle Devore (11-0) was picked by the Rangers in the 27th round.

Ryan Krill, 6-4, 210, HS senior
Another Michigan State signee, the left-handed-hitting Krill hit .500 as a sophomore and .474, as a junior, and bounced back up to .500 as a senior for the top-ranked Mustangs. Has 16-2Bs, 4-3Bs, five HRs, 47 RBI and 43 runs, while not striking out yet in his senior season. Selected for MHSBCA All-Star game at Comerica. At 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, Krill is also a tight end in football.

Jimmy Pickens, 6-2, 210, HS senior
The third Michigan State commit drafted by the Tigers on Wednesday. Ranked one spot behind Salter by Perfect Game, Pickens earned four letters each in baseball and football at Birmingham Brother Rice. The left-hander hit .418 with five HRs, 31 RBI as a junior. One older brother, Doug, played at MSU and is in the Indians organization, while another brother, Ryan, played football at Western Michigan.

Tucker Chadd, 6-1, 205, HS senior
Hit .451 as a sophomore, .420 with four HRs and 29 RBI as a junior, earning second-team all-state honors, leading BCC to a 5-A state runner-up finish. Committed to Barton Community College. The nephew of Tigers VP of Amateur Scouting, David Chadd.

Greg Fettes, 6-3, 205, HS senior
A Kentucky commit, Fettes is one of the top prep catchers in the state, behind Divine Child’s Eric Haase (7th round, Cleveland) and Salter (38th round, Detroit). Hit .500 with a school-record 11 HRs as a junior, earning all-state honors and leading Lamphere to the regional finals, where the Rams lost to Haase’s eventual state championship team.

Chretien Matz, 6-0, 195, senior
Second team all-Southwest Athletic Conference as a senior. He’s the nephew of Ernie Young, the manager of Tigers Class A affiliate West Michigan.

Andrew Allen, 6-4, 230, junior
The son of the Tigers’ color commentator Rod Allen, the first baseman was drafted in the 43rd round of the 2007 draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks out of high school in Phoenix, and again in the 43rd round by the Tigers in 2009. Played in just 17 games (eight starts) and hit .167 with one triple and five RBI. Hit .289 as a freshman at Central Arizona JC in 2009, but missed most of his sophomore season with injury.

Alexander Fernandez, 5-10, HS senior
The son of former Major League pitcher Alex Fernandez, the younger Fernandez played at Archbishop McCarthy High School, where his father is director of baseball operations. The school also produced current Tiger catcher Alex Avila and 2010 second-round pick Nick Castellanos. The elder Fernandez played for the Marlins’ World Series champs in 1997, a team managed by current Tigers manager Jim Leyland, and assembled by current Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski.

Ryan McPhail, 6-1, 190, HS senior
A switch hitter committed to Spartanburg (SC) Methodist College, a junior college, Ryan is the son of Mets area scout Marlin McPhail.

Lavaris McCullough, 6-1, 180, HS senior
Committed to Daytona State College, a junior college.

Brett Impemba, 6-0, 165, HS senior
The son of the other member of the Fox Sports Detroit TV crew, play-by-play man Mario Impemba, and is committed to play baseball at Oakland University. (For full disclosure, his father is the play-by-play voice of the OU Grizzlies men’s basketball team, too.)

Brandon Weber, 6-0, 180, HS senior
The teammate of Tucker Chadd, Weber is the fourth player the Tigers have drafted out of Bishop Carroll Catholic in four years — not surprising since it’s in the back yard of VP of Amateur Scouting David Chadd, Tucker’s uncle.

Other locals
46-1393 Zach Cooper LHP Central Michigan (Hartland)
49-1493 Mick VanVossen RHP GR Forest Hills Central

Just got off the conference call with the Tigers' VP of Amateur Scouting, David Chadd, and Director of Amateur Scouting, Scott Pleis. I'll have a story on the Tigers' first 29 picks at TheOaklandPress.com a bit later (Here's the link to that story.).

Just repeating for those who were unaware, the Tigers lost their first-round pick this year (No. 19) to Boston for the signing of Type A free agent Victor Martinez. It's the second year the Tigers have been without a pick in the first round (last year was for signing Jose Valverde), but last year, the Tigers had a supplemental pick in the sandwich round, where they took third baseman Nick Castellanos.

Here are the Tigers picks, in order, along with local players taken:

Round Player Position School
2 (76) James McCann Catcher Arkansas
3 (106) Aaron Westlake First base Vanderbilt
4 (137) Jason King Third base Kansas State
5 (167) Brandon Loy Shortstop Texas
6 (197) Tyler Collins Outfield Howard College
7 (227) Brian Flynn LH pitcher Wichita State
8 (257) Jason Krizan Right fielder Dallas Baptist U.
9 (287) Chad Wright Center fielder Kentucky
10 (317) Curtis Casali Catcher Vanderbilt
11 (347) Dean Green First base Barry University
12 (377) Jeff Holm Outfielder Michigan State
13 (407) Ryan Woolley RH pitcher Alabama-Birmingham
14 (437) Patrick Smith Center fielder Middle Ga. College
15 (467) Tyler Gibson Outfielder Stratford Academy (GA)*
16 (497) Ismael Salgado Center fielder International Baseball Acad (PR)*
17 (527) Chad Smith RH pitcher Southern California
18 (557) Brett Harrison Third base Green Valley HS (NV)*
19 (587) Dan Bennett RH pitcher Florida State
20 (617) Tyler Barrett LH pitcher Lewis-Clark State
21 (647) Scott Squier LH pitcher Greenway HS (AZ)*
22 (677) Tommy Collier RH pitcher San Jacinto Col. North
23 (707) Trenton Daniel LH pitcher Arkansas-Fayetteville
24 (737) Matt Crouse LH pitcher Mississippi
25 (767) Mitchell Mormann RH pitcher Wichita State
26 (797) Colin Kaline Second base Florida Southern
27 (827) Scott Matyas RH pitcher Minnesota
28 (857) Guido Knudson RH pitcher UC San Diego
29 (887) Montreal Robertson RH pitcher Coahoma CC
30 (917) Greg Milhorn RH pitcher Arkansas HS (AR)*

Locals drafted
Round Player Position School
7 (215) BAL Trent Howard LH pitcher Central Michigan
7 (218) CLE Eric Haase Catcher Dearborn Divine Child HS
9 (290) STL Tyler Mills RH pitcher Michigan
12 (389) NYY Cody Grice Center fielder Grand Valley
18 (559) TOR Jon Berti Second base Bowling Green/Troy HS
20 (616) OAK Kurt Wunderlich RH pitcher Michigan State
20 (619) TOR Joel Seddon RH pitcher St. Clair HS
24 (744) TEX Zach Fish Catcher Gull Lake HS
28 (843) SEA Brett Shankin RH pitcher Wayne State (Romeo HS)