2013 MLB Draft Central – Florida Gators in the MLB Draft

This time last year, Kevin O’Sullivan and the Gators were preparing for their third straight College World Series appearance and the MLB Draft. Florida had nine players drafted last year – including eight in the first 10 rounds – and lost an additional six high school signees, who chose to pursue their professional dreams rather than play college baseball.

That is the risk of signing the nations No. 1 overall signing class – something the Gators have done each of the past two years.

Last season, Florida had two players – Mike Zunino and Brian Johnson – get selected in the first round of the draft. While the Gators won’t have anybody drafted as high as Zunino was last season (3rd overall), Florida does have some first round talent that could be drafted early over the course of the draft.

This time last year, Kevin O’Sullivan and the Gators were preparing for their third straight College World Series appearance and the MLB Draft. Florida had nine players drafted last year – including eight in the first 10 rounds – and lost an additional six high school signees, who chose to pursue their professional dreams rather than play college baseball.

That is the risk of signing the nations No. 1 overall signing class – something the Gators have done each of the past two years.

Last season, Florida had two players – Mike Zunino and Brian Johnson – get selected in the first round of the draft. While the Gators won’t have anybody drafted as high as Zunino was last season (3rd overall), Florida does have some first round talent that could be drafted early over the course of the draft.

On the roster there are seven players who could hear their names called this year. Pitchers Jonathan Crawford, Karsten Winston, Daniel Gibson and Johnny Magliozzi are all underclassmen that will be drafted this year. Cody Dent and Vickash Ramjit are also draft eligible and could be drafted late.

Of all of the draft eligible players who were on the roster last season, Crawford projects to be the first player selected. Crawford could sneak into the late first round or the consolation round.  After a breakout season in 2012, Crawford came into his junior season projected to be a top-10 pick but after struggling somewhat this year has seen his stock take a hit.

Whitson has already turned down big money once – he turned down $2.1 million dollars coming out of high school – and Florida fans hope he will once again turn down a professional contract. Whitson had shoulder surgery this offseason, which kept him out of the rotation. Once thought to be a potential No. 1 overall pick possibility, Whitson could elect to go back to school to try to re-build his draft stock.

Florida also has a very talented 2013 signing class that could be picked apart by the draft. Pitchers A.J. Puk and Tyler Danish are projected to be very early selections. Recent rumors surrounding Puk have him preferring to go to college to continue hitting and playing first base while also continuing to develop on the mound – the position where he will eventually play professionally. Recent rumors around Danish are that some MLB scouts are worried about is mechanics, specifically his arm slot. Danish has a low ¾ throwing motion that gives his fastball very good sink and also a devastating break to his slider. Both of the rumors could be posturing as MLB teams and players look to get any kind of leverage they can before contract negotiations begin.

2013 MLB Draft Schedule

Rounds 1-2: Thursday, June 6, at 7 p.m. ET – Live Draft on MLB Network and MLB.com
Rounds 3-10: Friday, June 7, at 12:30 p.m. ET – Live Draft on MLB.com
Rounds 11-40: Saturday, June 8, at 1 p.m. ET – Live Draft on MLB.com

Florida Players Drafted

Round (Overall). POS – Player – Team
1(20). RHP – Jonathan Crawford – Detroit Tigers
7(210). LHP – Daniel Gibson – Arizona Diamondbacks
17(506). RHP – Johnny Magliozzi – New York Mets
22(676). SS – Cody Dent – Washington Nationals
35(1126). RHP – Karsten Whitson – Washington Nationals

Florida Signees Drafted

Round (Overall). POS – Player – High School – Team
1(25). SS – Christian Arroyo – Hernando HS, FL – San Francisco Giants
2(55). RHP – Tyler Danish – Durant HS, FL – Chicago White Sox
5(141). LHP – Sean Brady – Ida S Baker HS, FL – Cleveland Indians
35(1056). RHP/1B – A.J. Puk – Washington HS, IA – Detroit Tigers

Day 1 – 2013 MLB Rule 4 Draft Recap – Round 1 & 2

Last year, it only took three picks for the Gators to have their first player selected in the MLB Rule 4 Draft. This year, Florida had to wait a little longer but still had a player selected in the first round when the Detroit Tigers drafted Jonathan Crawford with the 20th overall pick. If he decides to sign a pro contract – the 20th overall selection is slotted to make just north of $2 million dollars – he would rejoin former Gator teammate Hudson Randall who is currently in high A ball in the Tigers’ organization.

After waiting 20 picks, the Gators wouldn’t have to wait that long before the next player – a 2013 signee – hear his name called. The San Francisco Giants selected Hernando high school shortstop Christian Arroyo with the 25th overall pick in the draft. The 25th pick is slotted to make about $1.8 million dollars in his first contract, which could mean that Arroyo’s career as a Gator is over before it even began.

If Arroyo signs a contract with the Giants – as I believe that he will – the loss is not too tough for the Gators to deal with as they still have Richie Martin who should move back to his natural position of shortstop next season.

The third and final player selected on the first night of the draft was Tyler Danish who was selected in the second round by the Chicago White Sox with the 55th overall pick. Danish is a right-handed pitcher who probably had the best command of any high school pitcher in the state of Florida.  Danish throws from a very low ¾ arm angle, which gives him a nasty natural sink to his fastball (which he throws in the low-to-mid 90s) and a nasty slider.

Danish finished his senior season with staggering numbers off the mound. He threw 94 innings with a 0.00 ERA. No, that wasn’t a typo. Danish didn’t give up an earned run all season long on the way to a 15-1 record. His only loss came in a 1-0 decision where the one run was unearned. Danish also struck out 156 batters to just 16 walks.

Unfortunately for the Gators, they will likely never see Danish in orange and blue as the opportunity to play professional baseball will likely steal him away before he has a chance to step foot on campus.

Stay tuned right here throughout the next three days, as we will continually update this page as players are drafted.

 

 

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC