Former Huskie baseball pitcher Alex Klonowski was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels with the 869th overall pick in the 29th round of the MLB 2014 First-Year Player Draft on June 7.

Klonowski was a four-year player with the Huskies, serving as both a pitcher and a position player, although the Angels drafted the 6-foot-4, 195-pound senior as a right-handed pitcher.

Klonowski pitched in relief duty during his freshman and sophomore seasons, but he took over as a starting pitcher in his junior and senior campaigns. He was named to the All-MAC Second Team as a pitcher in 2014, posting a 4-6 record with a 2.38 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP in 14 starts. In 94.2 innings, opponents hit only .215 off of him, while he tossed four complete games and didn’t allow a home run.

“He’s a sinker-slider pitcher,” said head coach Ed Mathey. “He pitches to contact. He gets his strikeouts even though that’s not his forte, but he gets a lot of ground balls. He’s athletic on the mound, too. He runs well, makes plays off the mounds [and] fields bunts well. He’s very athletic out there.”

During his senior season he primarily played first base when he wasn’t pitching. Throughout his first three seasons in the field, he mostly played second base and was named to the All-MAC First Team as a second baseman in 2013. He is the first Huskie since Joe Plaskas in 1960-61 to earn All-MAC honors as a pitcher and in the field during his career.

“I think he’s got more in his tank yet,” Mathey said. “He was two-way guy for us. We weren’t able to train him just as pitcher, so there’s even more room for [the Angels organization] to go with his velocity. He’s athletic and can pitch to contact, which will play in his favor as well.”