SECAUCUS, N.J. — Kentucky junior second baseman Chris Bisson (pronounced: BEES-own) has been selected by the San Diego Padres in the fourth round with the 124th overall pick of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft, it was announced Tuesday afternoon.
A native of Orleans, Ontario, Bisson was the highest UK player drafted in 2010 and after going in the fourth round marks the third consecutive year Kentucky has had a player drafted in the top five. Kentucky has now had a player drafted in the top five rounds seven times in the last three seasons, marking a program best, dating back to the 1965 MLB Draft.
Bisson was joined in the top-five rounds in the 2010 MLB Draft by former UK left-handed pitcher James Paxton, who was drafted in the fourth round by the Seattle Mariners with the 132nd overall selection.
The 50-round draft continues throughout on Tuesday with rounds 2-30 and concludes with rounds 31-50 on Wednesday. Coverage is available on the MLB Network and MLB.com.
During his three-year UK career, Bisson emerged as one of the top middle infielders in college baseball, becoming the first UK player to earn back-to-back All-SEC honors in over 10 years, dating back to catcher John Wilson earned All-SEC accolades in 1999 and 2000. In 2009 and 2010, Bisson was selected second-team All-SEC at second base by the league coaches.
As a true freshman playing in the rugged SEC, Bisson was forced into action with injuries striking UK senior third baseman Chris McClendon in 2008. The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder played in 27 games with 13 starts, batting .157 (8-for-51) with three doubles, four RBI and three stolen bases. UK entered the 2009 season unsure as to its starter at second base with All-SEC standout Ryan Wilkes departing following 2008. Bisson took control of the spot, leading UK in nearly every statistical category. In 2009, Bisson batted .360 (80-for-22) with 49 runs scored, nine doubles, three triples, two homers and 52 RBI, stealing 13-of-15 bases.
In 2010, Bisson solidified himself as one of the top players in the nation, entering the season as a preseason All-America selection by Baseball America. In 51 games and 50 starts in 2010, Bisson batted .329 (69-for-210) with 12 doubles, one triple, five homers and 35 RBI, stealing an SEC-leading 32 bases in 39 attempts. Bisson, who ran up two 12-or-more-game hitting streaks in 2010, reached base safely in 49 of 51 games played and with his 32 steals, became the first UK player to steal 30 or more bases since Chad Green stole a school-record 55 bases in 1995. Was prolific throughout the season on the base paths, going through a seven consecutive game stretch with a stolen base, swiping 11 total bases in that span. In a win at Auburn, Bisson stole a career-best four bases. After jumping out to a hot start to open the season, Bisson was hit on the nose by a 1-2 fastball in a March 6 game against Monmouth in San Diego, breaking his nose and requiring surgery. Bisson showed tremendous toughness to return after just a five-game period, returning for a pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth inning of a game with Murray State. Before the injury, Bisson was batting .378 (14-for-37) with 10 runs, two doubles, one triple, two homers and 10 RBI. After the injury and while playing with a facemask at the plate and a face shield at second base for 15 games, Bisson batted .317 (19-for-60) with two doubles, no triples or homers and eight RBI.
Last summer, Bisson improved upon his status as a prospect with a strong showing in the prestigious Cape Cod League, leading the league in stolen bases with 36 steals in his 42-game summer and batting .269 (36-for-164). With 36 steals, Bisson equaled the Cotuit Kettlers club record and with over 30 steals, became just the fourth player in the Cape in the last 10 years and the third in the last nine years to steal 30 or more bases during a summer. Of the three other CCL players to steal 30 or more bases in the last 10 years, two have advanced to the big leagues.
A 6-foot-4, 210-pound native of Ladner, British Columbia, Paxton was drafted in the first round in 2009 by the Toronto Blue Jays but did not sign with the Blue Jays at the August 15, 2009 signing deadline, electing to prepare for the draft in the non-affiliated independent minor league baseball in Grand Prairie, Texas. In his three-year UK career, Paxton started 24 games and appeared in 55, posting a 5-3 record and a 4.91 ERA. In 148.1 career innings, Paxton posted two saves, allowed 149 hits, 61 walks and 168 strikeouts. In 2009 for UK, Paxton struck out 115 in 78.1 innings, posting a 5.86 ERA in 13 starts.
Updated Chris Bisson Bio
Chris Bisson
INF – 5-11, 185
Orleans, Ontario (Beatrice-Desloges)
• Fourth round draft pick in 2010 (Padres)
• 2010 second-team All-SEC (coaches)
• 2010 third-team preseason All-American (Ping Baseball)
• 2009 second-team All-SEC (coaches)
• 2009 first-team All-SEC (SEbaseball.com)
2010
Played in 51 of UK’s 56 games with 50 starts on the year, missing five games due to injury … Reached base safely in 49 of 51 games played … Led the SEC in stolen bases, swiping 32-of-39 bases, becoming the first UK player to steal 30 or more bases since Chad Green stole a school-record 55 bases in 1995 … 32 stolen bases ranks sixth all-time in UK single-season history … Batted .329 (69-for-21) with 43 runs scored, one triple, five homers and 35 RBI, leading the team with 12 doubles and 28 walks … Batted .318 (41-for-29) in 30 SEC starts, with nine doubles, two homers and 17 RBI, stealing 21-of-25 bases … Had a 13-game hitting streak – dating back to the final game of 2009 – to start the 2010 season, and a 12-game hitting streak late in the year … Had a team-high equaling 21 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games … In the season-opening win over Virginia Tech, posted a season-high four hits, with two RBI and two doubles … Had a four-RBI game against Morehead State, including his first triple and second homer of the year … Was hit in the nose by a 1-2 fastball in a March 6 game with Monmouth in San Diego, Calif., breaking his nose and requiring surgery … Initial diagnosis included the potential for missing a month but Bisson missed only five games, returning in a late-game, pinch-hit at bat, roping an RBI single into left-centerfield against Murray State on March 15 … Was batting .378 (14-for-37) with 10 runs scored, two doubles, one triple, two homers and 10 RBI, drawing five walks and striking out just three times in 10 games before being injured … After the injury and while playing with a facemask at the plate and a face shield at second base, Bisson batted .317 (19-for-60) in 15 games, with two doubles, no triples or homers and eight RBI, drawing eight walks and striking out 13 … Had a streak with a stolen base in seven consecutive games, stealing 11 bases in the seven-game span … Recorded three, three-hit games … Stole a career-high four bases in a win at Auburn, the first game of a doubleheader … Had four multi-walk games and seven games with multiple stolen bases … Had back-to-back three-hit games, against Ole Miss in the series finale and against Xavier … Hit a homer in back-to-back games, at Louisville and at Tennessee, with the homer at Louisville cutting the UL lead in the eighth inning, setting the stage for a comeback in the ninth … Totaled 21 of his 69 hits with two outs, driving in 12 total two-out RBI and charting a total of 14 two-strike hits.
2009 Summer
Led the Cape Cod League in stolen bases, while leading his Cotuit Kettlers to the championship series … Swiped 36-of-45 bases during his team-best 42 games this summer, playing one game at first base, nine at second base, 17 at third base and 19 at shortstop … His 36 steals equaled the Cotuit club record, matching Rich Thompson’s 1993 36 steals … With 30 or more steals, Bisson became just the fourth CCL player in the last 10 years and the third in the last nine years to steal 30 or more bags during a summer … Of the three other CCL players to steal 30 or more bases in the last 10 years, two advanced to the big leagues … In a mid-season doubleheader, stole 7-of-8 bases in two games, prompting his CCL head coach, Mike Roberts, to say postgame, “It’s been many years since I’ve seen one player that I enjoyed watching play as much as I’ve enjoyed watching Chris Bisson.” … Led the team in games played and hits (36), adding five doubles and 15 RBI … Drew 23 walks compared with 32 strikeouts … Had a .385 on-base percentage … Finished with a .269 (36-for-134) average, scoring 19 runs … Also on the Kettlers were Georgia outfielder Zach Cone, Arkansas third baseman Zach Cox, Texas infielder Kevin Keyes, Texas catcher Cameron Rupp, Auburn infielder Kevin Patterson and Coastal Carolina speedster Rico Noel.
2009
Led UK in nearly every offensive category, including average (.360), at bats (222), runs (49), hits (80), triples (three), RBI (52) and walks (20), adding 13 stolen bases in 15 attempts … Reached base safely in 49 of 52 games … Ranked seventh in the SEC in average … Led UK with 133 assists from his second base position, fielding .953, only playing a few outs at third base during the year … Hit all over the order, sliding into the three-hole when UK struggled with clutch at bats from a young lineup, hit .352 with 25 RBI at the third-place hitter in the order … A prototypical leadoff hitter, hit .358 with 22 RBI and five steals as the No. 1 hitter in 2009 … Batted .365 in SEC play, with 27 RBI and six steals … Was a .394 hitter at Cliff Hagan Stadium, hitting .301 on the road … Totaled a .403 average in 31 games played at day and a .301 average in 21 night games … Started all 21 of UK’s games in March, leading UK with a .393 average, also pacing the lineup in 18 April games, hitting .342 … Batted .391 (43-for-110) with runners on base, .330 (37-for-112) with the bases empty and .750 (9-for-12) with the bases loaded … Reached safely as the leadoff hitter 33-of-79 times, a .418 clip … With runners in scoring position, hit .414 (29-for-70), and batted .386 (27-for-70) with two outs … Led UK with 22 two-out RBI, reaching on an error a club-best 10 times and a fielder’s choice a team-high 14 times … With a runner on third base and less than two out, Bisson drove in 20 RBI in 24 opportunities … Batted .471 (8-for-17) in the ninth inning, hitting both of his homers in the ninth … Opened the year on an eight-game hitting streak, going 1-for-4 with two RBI in the season opener, starting at second base … Had nine three-hit games, two four-hits games and 25 total multi-hit games … Had a streak with multiple-hits in eight straight games … Batted 4-for-5 with four RBI in the series opener with South Carolina … Hit his first career homer in walk-off fashion against EKU; with UK down a run in the bottom of the ninth and a runner on first base, Bisson belted a first-pitch offering from the EKU closer for a walk-off two-run homer … Had second career homer as part of a six-RBI 3-for-5 day at Mississippi State … Totaled four RBI in series finale against Tennessee … Had a streak with a double in five straight games … Ran up a team-best 15-game hitting streak.
2008
As a true freshman in the SEC, Bisson was forced into action due to several minor injuries to the Wildcat infield … Started 13 games and played in 27, batting .157 (8-for-51) with nine runs scored, three doubles and four RBI … Stole 3-of-6 bases during the year, fielding .920, primarily at second and third base … With Chris McClendon nursing injury issues throughout the season, Bisson stepped in, running up a six-game consecutive start streak, including three starts at third in a series win over Florida … Had an outstanding summer in 2008, while playing in the New York Collegiate Baseball League … Played in 32 games, batting .301 (41-for-136) with 34 runs, two doubles, a triple, three homers and 18 RBI … Stole 17-of-18 bases, drew a team-best 25 walks and reached base at a .417 clip.
High School
Coached by Don Campbell on the Ottawa Nepean Canadians … Senior season, played for Team Ontario, which won the National Championship … Also played volleyball and basketball, where he lettered all four years.
Personal
Full name is Christian Darcy Bisson … Son of Rene and Roxanne Bisson … Born August 14, 1989 in Ottawa, Ontario … Has a younger brother Patrick (18).
