Matt Blank

Blank attended James W. Martin High School in Arlington, Texas. He was selected by the New York Yankees in the 37th round of the 1994 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign, and instead enrolled at Galveston College. After a year in college, Blank was drafted in the 40th round of the 1995 Major League Baseball draft by the Florida Marlins, but again declined to sign. He later transferred to Texas A&M University.\n', '

After not being drafted in 1996, Blank was drafted in the 11th round of the 1997 Major League Baseball draft by the Montreal Expos. He signed on to play in the Expos organization, and made his professional baseball debut with the Short Season-A Vermont Expos. In 16 appearances, Blank posted a 6–4 win–loss record, 1.69 earned run average (ERA), and 84 strikeouts in 95​2⁄3 innings pitched. In 1998, he split time between the Class-A Cape Fear Crocs and Advanced-A Jupit…