On June 8, 2010, the spotlight of the baseball world shone on Washington National Stephen Strasburg during his seven-inning, four-hit, 14-strikeout debut performance at Nationals Park.

But pardon former Georgetown starting pitcher and 2010 graduate Tim Adleman for having other baseball thoughts on his mind that night. After all, it’s not everyday that he’s selected in the Major League Baseball amateur entry draft.

“It was definitely really cool,” Adleman said of being drafted. “It was my dream come true. I’ve been working for a long time to try to get a shot at playing professional baseball.”

That shot materialized when the Baltimore Orioles selected Adleman in the 24th round with the 718th overall pick of this summer’s draft.

“I was in the computer room [following the draft online with MLB’s Live Draft Tracker] and got up for a second, and then I heard my name called,” Adleman said. “I was pretty shocked because I knew the Orioles were picking at that time, and I didn’t expect to be chosen then so I had to do a double-take to make sure I had really heard my name.”

Adleman hadn’t even been contacted by Orioles scout Chris Gale until the last week of the Hoyas’ season.

“I actually never talked to him on the phone,” Adleman said. “He sent me a questionnaire really late, and it was kind of a surprise that I actually ended up getting picked by the Orioles.”

Whether it’s where he expected to be or not, the 6-foot-5, 198-pound hurler from Raleigh, N.C., is thrilled about the possibility of making it to the big leagues with Baltimore, and he’s already making a case for himself in the Orioles’ minor league system.

Adleman’s journey to the Show began on Tuesday, June 22, when he made his first professional appearance in a start with the Orioles’ Class A Short Season affiliate, the Aberdeen IronBirds. In four scoreless innings of work against the Brooklyn Cyclones, the right-hander allowed just two hits and struck out three without walking a batter.

Including 10 more starts since his debut, Adleman is 2-3 with a 3.12 earned run average and 54 strikeouts in 57.2 innings pitched for the IronBirds. The 22-year-old has allowed just 44 hits and walked 21 batters en route to a 1.13 WHIP over that span and recently pitched seven no-hit innings against the Staten Island Yankees in a win on Aug. 2; Adleman didn’t get the chance to finish his no-hitter because of a high pitch count. He ranks among the top-18 pitchers in the New York-Penn League in earned run average, innings pitched, strikeouts and WHIP and pitched a scoreless sixth inning in relief for the American League affiliates in the league all-star game on Aug. 17 at Richmond County Bank Park in Staten Island, N.Y.

During his senior year in 2010, Adleman added 83.1 innings pitched to his career total of 293.2 and notched 58 of his school record 224 career strikeouts on the way to a 4-4 season and a 5.51 earnedrun average. The right-hander left the Hilltop with a 14-27 career record and a 5.83 earned run average as a Hoya.

Adleman’s Georgetown battery mate, senior catcher Erick Fernandez, was also selected in this year’s draft in the 46th round with the 1,376th pick by the Washington Nationals but opted not to sign with the club before the Aug. 16 deadline; the 6-foot, 191-pound backstop from Hialeah, Fla., remains eligible for his senior season on the Hilltop as a result. In 49 starts and 51 total games last season with Georgetown, Fernandez batted .317 with five home runs and 29 runs batted in. He doubled 13 times and finished the season with a .408 on-base percentage and a .483 slugging percentage.