NSU's Mason Melotakis drafted in 2nd round to Minnesota

[Information provided by Northwestern St]

NATCHITOCHES – Left-handed pitcher Mason Melotakis became second highest overall selection from Northwestern State in the Major League Baseball first year player draft when the Minnesota Twins picked him 63rd overall Tuesday morning.

Melotakis, a 6-3, 205 pound 20 year old, joins Brandon Emanuel, who was picked with the 61st pick by the Angels in 1998, as the two highest picks the Demons have ever produced.

"I am ecstatic," said Melotakis. "It's a dream come and I couldn't be more excited."

Melo, as he is known to his teammates, was watching the draft with his family when he saw that the Twins chose him.

"My family and I were sitting quietly and when my name came up we started jumping for joy and going crazy," said the Grapevine, Texas native.

Minnesota had been showing interest in Melotakis from the beginning and contacted his advisor this morning to get information.

"I've been talking to them for a while now," said the hard throwing southpaw. "I knew they had interest in me.

"I don't really know much about their organization, but I cannot wait to get up there and see what they're about," said Melotakis.

A three-year letterman for NSU, Melotakis has a 5-7 overall record with 12 saves and a 3.68 ERA in his career as a Demon.  His 12 saves ranks third all-time in school history.

Over his career, he appeared in 61 games, threw 127.1 innings, struck out 129 batters, and gave up 43 walks.

Melotakis began the 2011 season as a starter before moving to the bullpen later that season.  In the 2012 season, he started in the bullpen and eventually moved to the rotation the last three weeks of the season.

"I want to be a starter at the professional level which means that I will need to work on my secondary pitches and be more mentally ready," said Melotakis.

Melotakis is most famed for his pitching performance at LSU in 2011 when the Demons beat LSU 5-2 for the first time in 10 years.  He threw four innings of no-hit baseball and struck out ten batters.

"That was my favorite memory while at NSU, he said. " I felt then about like I do toady.

"Being a Demon helped me mature as a person and baseball player," said Melotakis. "I owe a lot to J.P. Davis (former Demon head coach) because he has been a big influence on me and really helped me get to this point."