In no real surprise Thursday, Clemson signee Ethan Martin was drafted No. 15 overall by the Los Angles Dodgers in the 2008 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

Martin, an infielder and pitcher at Stephens County High School in Toccoa, Ga., will more than likely become the eighth incoming freshman in Jack Leggett’s last three recruiting classes not to make it to campus because of the draft. Last year, Clemson lost four potential players to the draft, and in 2006 three signees were selected.

Martin was drafted by the Dodgers as a pitcher, though Clemson signed him in December in hopes that he could come in and compete as an infielder as well. He was the second right-handed pitcher taken in the draft.

“He went from an interesting two-way player to an upper-echelon pitching prospect in one start,” MLB.com scouts said. “Showing three above-average pitches he can throw for strikes as well as the ability to maintain mid-90s velocity deep into a game. Martin was sure to be one of the most closely watched prep pitchers in the Draft class. He jumped on the screen with that one start.”

Martin came under fire a little bit this week after his brother Cody Martin and his high school catcher Matt Hill supposedly plotted an intentional pass ball which hit the home plate umpire. In a video replay of the event, it appears Hill ducks to avoid the ball, letting it hit the umpire.

The Georgia High School League fined Stephens County $1,000 as a result. Cody Martin and Hill played out the incident moments after Ethan Martin argued with the home plate umpire and threw his helmet. He was the ninth straight Stephens County batter to strike out at the time in its 13-1 playoff loss to Cartersville.

No Clemson players from the 2008 team were selected in the first six rounds of the draft. Pitchers D.J. Mitchell and Ryan Hinson are left on the board with catcher Doug Hogan and shortstop Stan Widmann.

Leaving school. Three Clemson baseball players are planning on transferring to other schools, while two more are leaving school according to a story in The State (Columbia) Newspaper Thursday.

Outfielder Alex Lee (sophomore), second baseman J.D. Burgess (sophomore) and pitcher Trent Rothlin (freshman) will transfer to another school, while relief pitchers William Bond and Alex Martin are leaving the team. Bond and Martin were redshirt juniors.