6/14/05 – Arizona Athletics

Eight Wildcats Selected On First Day of MLB Draft Courtesy: The University of Arizona Release: 06/08/2005 Courtesy: Jacob Chinn – Arizona Athletics TUCSON, Ariz. – The Arizona baseball team had eight of its members drafted on the first day of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday. Juniors Trevor Crowe, Nick Hundley, Jordan Brown and John Meloan were all selected in the first five rounds, and classmates Kevin Guyette, Chris Frey and Brad Boyer went in the 10th, 11th and 14th rounds, respectively, while senior Jeff Van Houten was tabbed in the 13th round. Crowe, Hundley and Guyette all improved their draft status with three years of college experience at Arizona and Brown, Meloan, Frey, Van Houten and Boyer went from being undrafted out of high school to the top 14 rounds this year. “I’m very happy for the guys,” Arizona head coach Andy Lopez said. “It’s an exciting time for them and I know they’re all ready for the challenges that lie ahead. They’ve worked very hard to improve themselves not only as baseball players, but as people as well and I’m very humbled that they chose to come and play at Arizona. I have no doubt they’ll be successful on the next level.” Crowe, a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award and the 2005 Co-Pac-10 Player of the Year, was selected by the Cleveland Indians with the 14th overall pick in the first round. The three years Crowe spent at Arizona improved his draft stock by 19 rounds, as he was selected in the 20th round out of high school in the 2002 draft by the Oakland Athletics. Crowe’s No. 14 overall selection is the highest for any Arizona player since Eddie Leon was drafted by the Minnesota Twins with the ninth overall pick in the 1965 regular phase. Leon did not sign a professional contract that year. The San Diego Padres tabbed Hundley in the second round with the 76th overall pick. A finalist for the 2005 Johnny Bench Award, Hundley was a fifth-round selection by the Florida Marlins out of high school in 2002. The Indians made Brown their second Arizona draftee of the day, taking the first baseman in the fourth round with the 124th overall selection. Brown is just the fifth player in Arizona history to finish a season with 80 or more RBI. He finished the 2005 regular season as the Pac-10’s RBI leader. Meloan, who became the first Arizona pitcher to win 10 or more games in back-to-back seasons since former major leaguer Gilbert Heredia in 1986-87, was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fifth round with the 166th overall pick. Guyette, Arizona’s second 10-game winner this season, was picked by the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox with the 318th overall selection in the 10th round. Guyette was a 41st round selection by the Seattle Mariners coming out of high school. Frey, who moved into a full time starting role for the first time this season, was picked by the Colorado Rockies with the 327th pick in the 11th round. A left-handed reliever and defensive replacement his first two seasons, Frey started in center field in all 60 games for Arizona in 2005. Van Houten, the lone senior drafted from Arizona, was picked by the Florida Marlins with the 396th pick in the 13th round. Bypassed by the draft both out of high school and his junior year, Van Houten finished his UA career second on the all-time RBI list behind only former major leaguer Ron Hassey. Boyer was the eighth and final UA player selected on the first day, going to the Seattle Mariners in the 14th round with the 413th selection. Named to the Fullerton All-Regional team, Boyer finished the 2005 season with a .285 average, 55 runs scored and 46 RBI. Draft Notes The four top five round selections marks the first time in school history that Arizona has had that many players picked by MLB teams so early in the draft … The eight players selected on the first day are the most Arizona players taken in the draft since the 1998 team had 10 members selected. Arizona and the 2005 MLB Draft Player Pos. Round (Overall Selection) Team Trevor Crowe OF 1st (14th) Cleveland Indians Nick Hundley C 2nd (76th) San Diego Padres Jordan Brown 1B 4th (124th) Cleveland Indians John Meloan RHP 5th (166th) Los Angeles Dodgers Kevin Guyette RHP 10th (318th) Boston Red Sox Chris Frey OF 11th (327th) Colorado Rockies Jeff Van Houten OF 13th (396th) Florida Marlins Brad Boyer INF 14th (413th) Seattle Mariners