Baseball: Two former Pistol Shrimp players picked in 17th round of 2024 MLB Draft

Former Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp players Nolan Clifford and Drake Frize were selected in the 17th round of the 2024 MLB First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday.

Clifford was chosen by the Colorado Rockies with the 498th overall pick, and Frize was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 524th pick.

Both played for the Shrimp in 2021.

Clifford, an infielder out of Creighton University, played in 42 games for the Shrimp, hitting .230 with five doubles, one home run, 19 runs and 14 RBIs. This spring, he hit .348 at Creighton with eight doubles, five home runs, 38 runs and 37 RBIs in 41 games.

Frize, a pitcher from the University of San Diego, made nine appearances with one start for the Shrimp, going 0-2 with a 10.38 ERA. This spring at San Diego, he appeared in 18 games, going 3-1 with two saves, a 2.38 ERA, 41 strikeouts and nine walks in 22 ⅔ innings.

Clifford and Frize are the seventh and eighth players drafted in Pistol Shrimp history and sixth and seventh players drafted since the team moved to Peru in 2021.

Ryan Smith was taken in the ninth round of this year’s draft by the Houston Astros, and Jake Zitella was drafted in 2023 by the New York Mets in the 16th round.

In 2022, Noah Schultz was taken in the first round by the White Sox, Luke Adams was selected in the 12th round by the Milwaukee Brewers, and Keshawn Ogans was picked in the 20th round by the Atlanta Braves.

Finn Del Bonta-Smith, who played for the Shrimp when they were located in Lisle, was drafted in the 22nd round by the Colorado Rockies in 2019.