San Bruno-Native Harlan Drafted by Pittsburg Pirates

Thomas Harlan, a senior baseball standout at Fresno State and a San Bruno native, has made it to the big leagues after being drafted this week to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

A left-handed pitcher who stands at 6-foot-6, Harlan was selected as the 406th pick overall in the 13th round. He was among six Fresno State players, including one junior, who were selected during the three-day 2012 Major League Baseball Draft.

"We are very proud of Tom and the rest of our graduating seniors, as well as Justin Haley (the junior drafted)," said Fresno State head coach Mike Batesole. "They all have an exciting opportunity to play professional baseball, are all now ready to go and will all be successful. This is always an exciting time of year."

Here are some of Harlan's college career highlights, according to Fresno State's athletic program:

Harlan, a 2012 second-team All-WAC and All-WAC Tournament team honoree, recorded a 2.78 ERA as a senior to lower his career mark to 3.93. He earned WAC Pitcher of the Week twice during the regular season.

In four years in a Bulldog uniform, Harlan went 14-10 with two complete games and four saves in 90 appearances (213.0 innings) and 170 career strikeouts.

Harlan has been playing baseball since he was 7 and he grew up playing in San Bruno baseball leagues, from Pee Wee baseball all the way to the Joe DiMaggio league. He went to high school at Archbishop Riordan in San Francisco, where, according to SanFranPreps.com, he developed even more as a player.

A three-year starter at Riordan, Harlan had a 0.92 ERA and a 7-1 record in his senior season with the Crusaders and a 1.62 ERA in West Catholic Athletic League play. He also led the Crusaders in batting average (.360) in his final high-school season.

Harlan posted a 1.89 ERA as a junior and a 3.34 ERA as a sophomore at Riordan.

“Every time he was on the mound, we thought we had an opportunity to win,” Ledda said. “He’s a big kid and he was throwing in the mid-80s. He beat the best teams in the league throughout his [high-school] career.”

While Harlan had a rocky first two years at Fresno State, he vastly improved in his junior and senior years, and many could see that he had a lot of potential of making it to the pros.

Hal Harlan, Thomas's father, said his family had no doubts that he would get drafted this year.

"We are all very excited," Hal Harlan said by phone. "He had a great season. We were hoping he would go a little higher. But the second day is still a good day to go."

This is the second year in a row that a San Bruno-born player has made it to Major League Baseball. Last year, Greg Gonzalez, a Capuchino High and Skyline College alum who also played for Fresno State as a pitcher, was drafted by the San Diego Padres.

For more news about San Bruno, follow San Bruno Patch on Twitter and "like" us on Facebook. Got Patch in your inbox? Sign up for our newsletter.