Saluki first baseman Chris Serritella was taken in the fourth round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Philadelphia Phillies Tuesday.

Serritella was taken with the 158^th overall pick, which was the last of the fourth round. He was drafted in the 31^st round by the Kansas City Royals in last year’s draft despite a wrist injury that sidelined him for the entire 2011 season.

He was a Louisville Slugger NCAA Division I All-American in 2012 after he hit .389 with 13 home runs and 61 RBIs. He led the Missouri Valley Confence in seven categories, including hits, home runs and total bases.

Advertisement

Serritella, a redshirt junior, still has one season of eligibility left, but he said he would sign. Coach Ken Henderson said May 29 he expected Serritella to get drafted, and that he’s already preparing for next season without him.

Henderson said he also expects junior left-hander Nathan Dorris to get drafted, although he wasn’t sure how high because of a mid-season demotion to the mid-week starters role. Dorris was drafted in the 45^th round out of Marion High School in 2009, but decided to sign with Vanderbilt instead. Dorris spent a semester at Vanderbilt before transferring to Rend Lake Community College.

The deadline for Serritella to sign a contract with the Phillies is July 13 at 4 p.m.