Arizona Diamondbacks add eight more players in draft’s second day
Jun 6, 2014, 11:27 PM | Updated: 11:27 pm
After selecting four high school products on the first day of the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft, the Arizona Diamondbacks put more of a focus on the college ranks on the second.
Seven of the eight players Arizona added Friday come from college.
Of the eight new prospects, four are pitchers, two are outfielders and two are infielders. Below is a breakdown of each player as provided by the D-backs:
• Outfielder Matt Railey (Third Round, 89th overall), a Florida State commit, is rated by Baseball America as the ninth-best prospect in Florida after batting .407 (35-for-86) this year. He was named a Second-Team All-American by Perfect Game.
• Right-handed pitcher Brent Jones (Fourth Round, 120th overall) is Cornell’s highest-ever draft pick. He went 2-3 with a 2.50 ERA in 9 starts this season, garnering All-Ivy League Honorable Mention accolades.
• Right-handed pitcher Mason McCullough (Fifth Round, 150th overall) went 5-0 with a 4.09 ERA and 85 strikeouts as a starter for Lander. He spent the 2012-13 seasons with the University of North Carolina as a reliever.
• Left-handed pitcher Zac Curtis (Sixth Round, 180th overall), a 2014 All-Conference USA selection and Gregg Olson Award semifinalist, went 9-3 with a 1.89 ERA (24 ER in 114.0 IP) and led all Division-I pitchers with 143 strikeouts.
• Infielder Tyler Humphreys (Seventh Round, 210 overall), who was named Mid-Florida Conference Male Athlete of the Year, led the nation with 18 home runs and hit .347 with 12 doubles and 57 RBI for the Vikings this season.
• Outfielder Grant Heyman (Eighth Round, 240th overall), the Scenic West Conference Player of the Year, hit .377 (66-for-175) with 24 doubles, 8 home runs and 43 RBI in 52 games for the Coyotes. He committed to Oregon State University.
• Infielder Justin Gonzalez (Ninth Round, 270th overall), a 4-year starter at Florida State and the Seminoles’ team captain the previous 2 seasons, hit .245 (48-for-196) with 16 doubles and 39 RBI this season after missing the 2013 season with hip surgery.
• Right-handed pitcher Scott Schultz (Tenth Round, 300th overall) went 7-2 with 6 saves, a 1.61 ERA (12 ER in 67.0 IP) and 3 complete games (1 shutout) in 25 games (5 starts) for the No. 1 ranked Oregon State baseball team.
