 | On Wednesday afternoon, Ben Fisher was just working on some things at his family’s home in Richmond. He hadn’t yet been notified that he was selected by the Florida Marlins in the Major League Draft. “My dad told me,” Fisher said. |
“I didn’t get the call until after I had been drafted. He saw it on his phone. So, that was kind of cool.”
The Madison Central and Eastern Kentucky University graduate was selected by the Marlins in the 21st round. He was the 629th overall pick and becomes the 35th EKU player to be taken in the MLB Draft.
“I’m just really grateful for the opportunity and I’m really excited,” Fisher said. “There’s been a lot of emotions because this is something I’ve been looking forward to all my life. It’s a little bit of dream come true.”
The Richmond native put together an record-breaking senior year at EKU.
The first baseman finished the regular season with more home runs (25) and runs scored (71) than any other player at an NCAA school in the country. He earned All-American honors, was named the Co-Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and set a new school record for home runs.
The senior led the Colonels in almost every offensive category, including batting average (.363), at-bats (223), hits (81), doubles (14), RBI (72), total bases (170), slugging percentage (.762) and walks (38). Earlier this year, Fisher was named a semifinalist for the Dick Hoswer Trophy, which is awarded annually to the best player in college baseball, and was also on the Golden Spikes Award watch list.
He was included on the Rawlings/Perfect Game Midseason All-America First-Team in April.
Leading up to the draft, Fisher had been contacted by several teams and the Marlins were one of the organizations that showed the most interest.
“I had talked to them a good amount prior to the draft,” Fisher said. “I talked to one of their area scouts a lot.” Fisher is the third EKU player to be selected in the MLB Draft in the past two seasons.
Last year, Mandy Alvarez was picked in the 17th round by the New York Yankees and Kyle Nowlin was selected in the 21st round of the Oakland Athletics.
Fisher is set to report to the Marlins training facility this weekend and will likely start his professional career later this month in the Golf Coast League (Jupiter, Fla.) or the New York-Penn League (Batavia, New York). “I’m not sure where I’m going yet,” Fisher said. Eleven former Colonels have played in the Major Leagues, including current San Diego Padres pitcher Christian Friedrich.
The Madison Central and Eastern Kentucky University graduate was selected by the Marlins in the 21st round. He was the 629th overall pick and becomes the 35th EKU player to be taken in the MLB Draft.
“I’m just really grateful for the opportunity and I’m really excited,” Fisher said. “There’s been a lot of emotions because this is something I’ve been looking forward to all my life. It’s a little bit of dream come true.”
The Richmond native put together an record-breaking senior year at EKU.
The first baseman finished the regular season with more home runs (25) and runs scored (71) than any other player at an NCAA school in the country. He earned All-American honors, was named the Co-Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and set a new school record for home runs.
The senior led the Colonels in almost every offensive category, including batting average (.363), at-bats (223), hits (81), doubles (14), RBI (72), total bases (170), slugging percentage (.762) and walks (38). Earlier this year, Fisher was named a semifinalist for the Dick Hoswer Trophy, which is awarded annually to the best player in college baseball, and was also on the Golden Spikes Award watch list.
He was included on the Rawlings/Perfect Game Midseason All-America First-Team in April.
Leading up to the draft, Fisher had been contacted by several teams and the Marlins were one of the organizations that showed the most interest.
“I had talked to them a good amount prior to the draft,” Fisher said. “I talked to one of their area scouts a lot.” Fisher is the third EKU player to be selected in the MLB Draft in the past two seasons.
Last year, Mandy Alvarez was picked in the 17th round by the New York Yankees and Kyle Nowlin was selected in the 21st round of the Oakland Athletics.
Fisher is set to report to the Marlins training facility this weekend and will likely start his professional career later this month in the Golf Coast League (Jupiter, Fla.) or the New York-Penn League (Batavia, New York). “I’m not sure where I’m going yet,” Fisher said. Eleven former Colonels have played in the Major Leagues, including current San Diego Padres pitcher Christian Friedrich.
