If the UCLA baseball team is to make another run to the playoffs
next year, they will likely be doing it with a rebuilt pitching
staff.
Junior starting pitchers Dave Huff and Hector Ambriz were both
selected in the 2006 Major League Draft on Tuesday, leading a list
of seven Bruins that indicates the rest of the country has taken
notice to the swift turnaround of the UCLA baseball program.
Huff, who went 7-4 this year with a 2.98 ERA after transferring
from Cypress Community College in the fall, was selected as the
39th overall pick by the Cleveland Indians. In 2005, he was
selected in the 19th round by the Philadelphia Phillies, but opted
to attend UCLA.
“Dave pitched as well as any Saturday pitcher in the
country all year long,” UCLA coach John Savage said.
“He was exceptional for us, especially in the way he pitched
for our team late into games.”
Ambriz, who went 8-7 with a 3.65 ERA while also batting .313
with 5 home runs, was selected in the fifth round as the 147th
overall pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“It is good to know that all of the hard work for the last
18 years of my life has finally paid off,” Ambriz said.
Although Ambriz was a dual threat in college, he projects as a
pitcher at the next level.
“Hector will be a good professional player and we look
forward to seeing him in a Diamondbacks uniform in the
future,” Savage said.
Huff and Ambriz are expected to forgo their final year of
eligibility and sign with their respective teams.
The Bruins’ bullpen may also need some retooling after the
draft. Redshirt senior Josh Roenicke, who saw time this year as
both a closer and a center fielder, was taken in the 10th round
with the 294th pick by the Cincinnati Reds. Junior Brant Rustich,
who opened the year as the team’s closer before being
sidelined by an inflamed tendon in his middle finger, was taken in
the 13th round with the 401st overall pick by the Indians. Junior
reliever Paul Oseguera was selected with the 476th overall pick in
the 16th round by the San Francisco Giants. Oseguera was arguably
UCLA’s most consistent reliever, offering a quality left arm
out of the bullpen.
“I’m looking forward to having fun playing
professionally,” Roenicke said. “I was hoping to make a
career out of baseball, so this is definitely a dream come
true.”
Brett McMillan, a senior who saw reduced playing time this
season after starting for much of his career, was picked by the
Washington Nationals in the 14th round with the 421st pick overall.
The Nationals drafted McMillan last year as well, in the 36th
round.
“I was kind of watching the draft by myself, and I
couldn’t help but let out a little yell when I saw my
name,” McMillan said. “It feels really good to get
picked.”
Also selected was former UCLA outfielder Jarrad Page, who was
taken in the 7th round by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim despite
not playing baseball this year. After batting only .149 in 44 games
his junior season, Page decided to focus on football in hopes of
becoming a professional. In April, he was the seventh-round choice
of the Kansas City Chiefs.