Issue date: 6/19/06 Section: Sports

Wade Barker - The Battalion Aggie pitcher Austin Creps was taken in the sixth round by the Cleveland Indians in the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. Creps has not decided if he is going to join the Indians or return to the Aggie rotation for his final year of eligibility.

Texas A&M pitcher Austin Creps was having a career season that was abruptly brought to a halt during his 11th start of the season. Creps was called upon to face the Baylor Bears on the road in Waco. With two outs in the top of the first, Creps, in an attempt to field a slow ground ball, found himself on the ground with extreme pain radiating through his right leg.

"When I planted, my left foot slipped out," Creps said. "I fell awkwardly and my knee bent the way it wasn't supposed to bend. I had a torn meniscus and a sprained (medial collateral ligament)."

Until that point, Creps was leading the Big 12 Conference in ERA and was among the leaders in all other pitching categories. In 69.2 innings, Creps had an ERA of 2.20 and held opposing batters to a batting average of .246, while posting 51 strikeouts.

"I felt like I had finally figured it out," Creps said. "My first two years were up and down - I could never really put together back-to-back quality starts. This year, I just started throwing strikes and letting the defense make plays. I strung together seven good starts before having my first rough outing."

With such a tremendous season underway, Creps was initially projected to be taken in the top five rounds of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft. However, after being injured, it appeared unlikely that he would be drafted that high.

"I knew the injury would definitely affect the outcome of the draft," Creps said. "I know the scouts would have liked to see me finish the season the way I started it"

On June 6, the first day of the 2006 draft, Creps was at home with his family in Spring.

"I was keeping my eye on the Internet coverage and listening to it on the radio," Creps said. "I had actually been talking to a bunch of teams in the days leading up to the draft, and they were all saying (I would be picked in) the fifth- to eighth-round range. I got pretty nervous when those rounds came up because I didn't know if the teams would take a chance on me or pass me up for someone else."

Continued...

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