Eastern shortstop Ryan Dineen and pitcher Joe Greenfield were taken in the MLB’s First-Year Players Draft on Wednesday.

Greenfield was picked up by the Red Sox in the 22nd round and Dineen was chosen by the Houston Astros in the 25th.

Dineen, a junior, batted .335, scored 37 runs, 36 RBIs, nine doubles, seven home runs and also had 15 stolen bases in 56 starts this past season.

Dineen will not return to the Panthers, according to Head Coach Jim Schmitz.

“I’m really excited for Ryan,” Schmitz said. “He went out this summer and worked so hard. He’s going to sign with (the Astros).”

Schmitz said Dineen would be missed by the team.

“We feel awful losing him,” he said. “Losing Ryan as a junior is really putting a big hole in our lineup. We’re losing two other big hitters who are seniors (Ben Thoma and T.J McManus).”

Greenfield, a newcomer to the program, played at South Suburban Community College and threw a 4.28 ERA in 82 innings, along with 95 strikeouts.

Schmitz said he is trying to get Greenfield to return to the baseball team and Eastern.

“We’re trying to convince him that if he comes to Eastern next year that he could go from 22nd round to the fifth or seventh round instead of getting $75,000 or $100,000, he could get a quarter of a million,” Schmitz said.

Under the watch of Schmitz, 18 Panthers have been drafted in the past 17 years, 72 have been drafted in the history of the program.

On the younger side of the roster, freshman Brant Valach, the OVC Rookie Of The Year, has been named to the 2012 Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-American team.

He is the fourth Panther to accomplish this feat. Past winners are Zach Borenstein, Richie Derbak and Ryan Campbell.

“I can’t be happier,” Schmitz said. “We’re talking freshman All-American. He was phenomenal for us, and he’s only going to get better.”

Valach started all but one game at third base, batting a .314, complemented by 65 hits, 28 RBIs, 17 runs and 10 doubles.

His average in the OVC was a .396, the third best in the conference.

Schmitz said he likes the young players on the roster and is excited about how they will develop in two to three years, with three key losses along with Cunningham potentially signing with Boston.

Joshua Bryant can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].