AU BASEBALL: Burnside, Thompson taken on final day of MLB draft



06/12 at 01:39 AM

Paul Burnside said he doesn’t have any regrets, though a do-over for his final two years with Auburn would probably have been to his benefit.

Those upperclassman struggles, though, weren’t enough to prevent a Major League club from liking what it saw.

The Chicago White Sox selected Burnside on Thursday in the 39th round of the MLB amateur draft. The South-siders took another Auburn pitcher, junior Taylor Thompson, with the 1,333rd pick in the 44th round.

“I am pretty stoked right now,” Burnside said in a university statement. “It has been a great four years at Auburn. I wouldn’t change a thing from the last four years and my experience there. I have to thank the coaching staff for helping me out and helping me get through some of the hardships.”

Burnside started his career as a reliever before establishing himself as a reliable starter his sophomore season. His 2007 campaign was by far his best, when he was 7-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 11 appearances (10 starts).

After that, it got ugly.

Burnside missed most of 2008 after he broke his collarbone in a freak accident. At an offseason Auburn winter baseball camp, Burnside landed awkwardly after spearing a tackling dummy.

This season, Burnside never regained his 2007 form and lost his weekend starter slot after a few rough outings. He finished the year with a 1-3 record and 7.49 ERA.

But that’s all in the past.

“Now I have my foot in the door with Chicago,” Burnside said. “They have a great organization; they were in the World Series not too long ago (2005). I am looking forward to seeing if I can make some noise and eventually help them out.”

Thompson, meanwhile, hasn’t exactly reached his potential since arriving at Auburn, but has managed to get drafted in consecutive years by the White Sox.

In 2008, Thompson went 3-6 with a 6.28 ERA and was drafted in the 25th round by Chicago. He passed on that offer and returned for the 2009 season, only to go 3-3 with a 9.00 ERA in a mishmash of starts and relief appearances.

It is uncertain whether or not Thompson will accept the offer or return to Auburn for his senior season.

The Tigers had two more potential signees selected on the 50-round draft’s final day, which brings the final tally to six.

Third baseman Cody Martin (Toccoa, Ga.) went to Minnesota in the 31st round and lefthanded pitcher Cole Nelson (Des Moines, Iowa) was picked by Tampa Bay in the 45th round.

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