Grant Dayton is one step closer to becoming a professional baseball player.
The former Bob Jones star was drafted by the Florida Marlins Tuesday in the 11th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft after a strong junior season at Auburn University.
Eligible for the draft for the first time this year, Dayton is expected to sign with the Marlins in the next few days.
Dayton, a 6-foot-1, 194-pounder, finished the 2010 season with an 8-3 record and a 4.36 earned run average. He made 15 starts this season and finished with a team-high 69 strikeouts – the third year he has led Auburn in strikeouts.
In a team-high 95 innings, Dayton walked just 19 batters and limited opponents to a .269 batting average.
His 3.92 ERA in Southeastern Conference games ranked him 10th overall.
He tied for the SEC lead in league wins with seven.
During his three-year career at Auburn, the left-handed Dayton compiled a 17-11 career record with a 4.66 ERA. He has struck out 217 batters in 249 innings.
Dayton, a second-team All-SEC pick, led the Tigers, who were eliminated from the regionals with a loss to Clemson Monday at home.
Auburn had nine players get drafted in the first 30 rounds and five of them were drafted by major league teams for the first time in their careers.