Much like in last June, the UCLA baseball team took a hit with the arrival of the Major League Baseball draft. A total of eight Bruins were selected earlier this month, including five who had a season of eligibility left.
So far, pitchers Gavin Brooks and Charles Brewer, as well as outfielder Gabe Cohen, have signed professionally to forgo their senior seasons. Coach John Savage also expects infielder Casey Haerther, a fifth-round selection of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and UCLA’s highest pick, to sign, too.
The trend mirrors much of what Savage faced last June, when four of the program’s vital juniors were selected and eventually signed professionally.
“Whenever you lose a junior, it’s always a big loss,” Savage said. “But in this age of college baseball, many of our players could have signed out of high school. They made it clear that they wanted to come to UCLA, and they made it clear that they wanted to enjoy the college experience.”
Haerther hit .305 with nine home runs while splitting time at first and third base this past season. Brooks began the season as the ace of the weekend rotation, but failed to make his opening night start because of mechanical problems. Brooks then assumed the Bruins’ closer role, finishing the season with eight saves.
Brewer was the primary starter on Sundays and finished with a 4.52 earned-run average. Cohen hit .274 with five home runs.
Three seniors ““ infielder Cody Decker and pitchers Brendan Lafferty and Jason Novak ““ were also drafted. All three have signed: Decker with the San Diego Padres, Lafferty with the Kansas City Royals and Jason Novak with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Savage anticipates that pitcher Garett Claypool, a 32nd-round selection of the Oakland Athletics, to be the only one to return for his senior season.
“Things can change, but we anticipate Garett coming back,” he said.
Savage added that outfielder Blair Dunlap, a redshirt junior who was looking to get drafted, might return as well. Dunlap still has a year of eligibility left.
“We feel that all our juniors are prepared to go out,” Savage said. “We just have to determine if that’s the best opportunity for them depending on where they got drafted. We support all the decisions our guys make.”
INCOMING FRESHMEN: Three incoming players were selected in the MLB Draft before any current Bruins came off the board. Outfielder Trayce Thompson, son of former NBA standout Mychal Thompson, was the highest pick with ties to UCLA, selected in the second round by the Chicago White Sox.
“We’ve got to sweat out the entire summer,” Savage said.
UCLA’s most highly regarded recruit, All-American catcher Max Stassi, had to wait until the draft’s second day to hear his name get called by the Oakland Athletics.
“With Stassi going in the fourth round, we have an opportunity to hold on to him,” Savage said.
Stassi, who many projected to be a first-round pick, fell to the fourth round because of signability concerns.
“He had an opportunity to go in the first round,” Savage said. “In terms of slot money, his family and Max decided that wasn’t the avenue he was going to take. Therefore, when you’re not signable, you get drafted lower.”
Savage faced a similar situation last summer with pitcher Gerrit Cole, who was chosen in the first round by the New York Yankees. Cole eventually decided to attend college and that might have had an effect on the way teams perceived Stassi, who has made it clear that he is happy to head to Westwood if contract negotiations do not work out.
“I’m sure Oakland knows that they have to pay (Stassi) above slot and pay him first-round money,” Savage said. “We like our chances, but we understand that whenever you deal with a player of that ability that this goes on. I just think that we feel a lot better now than we did on June 1.”
Like Stassi, infielder David Nick was selected in the fourth round. But unlike Stassi, Savage confirmed that Nick had signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Also drafted were three other incoming freshmen: Cody Keefer (33rd round), Scott Griggs (34th round) and Jeff Gelalich (41st round).
“If Max and Trayce and the rest of those guys show up, I would have to think that this class would be as good as we’ve ever had,” Savage said. “The draft went pretty well, and a lot of that is signability.
“Those guys sent the message that they wanted to go to UCLA to get an education, have a chance to play in the Pac-10 and have an opportunity to go to Omaha. In that regard, I think it went as good as possible.”
AND THE ESPY GOES TO: Savage announced that he had received a national letter of intent from Dean Espy, an infielder from South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, Arizona who batted .361 in 60 games this past season. Espy will have three years of eligibility remaining.
“We expect (Espy) to make an impact from day one,” Savage said. “His instincts are at a very high level, and he’s going to bring a presence in the infield that we really need.”
Junior-to-be shortstop Niko Gallego is the only starter slated to return to the infield next season.