Cavs Lopez Drafted by Diamondbacks
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June 2, 1998
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – University of Virginia junior pitcher Javier Lopez (Fairfax, Va.) was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fourth round of today’s Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. The 6-5, 220 pound lefthander had a 5-6 record with a 6.78 ERA and 72 strikeouts for the Cavaliers this season. He ranked second on the team in both strikeouts and innings pitched (83-2/3), while tying for the team lead in games started (14).
Lopez, a graduate of Robinson H.S., becomes the seventh player from UVa to be selected in the first five rounds of the draft over the last five years. In 1994, outfielder Brian Buchanan was chosen in the first round by the New York Yankees and righthanded pitcher Yates Hall went to the St. Louis Cardinals in the fourth round. In the 1996 draft, the Detroit Tigers took righthanded pitcher Seth Greisinger in the first round and righthanded pitcher Jason Sekany was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the second round. Last season, lefthanded pitcher Greg Withelder was chosen by the Minnesota Twins in the third round and righthanded pitcher Pat Daneker went to the Chicago White Sox in the fifth round.
In addition to pitching, Lopez played a number of games at first base for the Cavaliers, hitting .316 with seven home runs and 31 runs batted in. His career slugging percentage of .547 is the sixth highest in school history.
The Cavaliers concluded the 1998 season with an overall record of 28-26-1 and a 5-18 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Virginia had a winning record in each of Lopez’s three years, marking the first time since 1984-86 the Cavaliers had three straight winning seasons.
Lopez’s career statistics at Virginia follow:
Pitching StatisticsYear ERA G-GS W-L SV CG SHO IP H R ER K BB HB WP 2B 3B HR Avg1996 4.72 18-10 4-2 0 0 0 53.1 56 39 28 36 35 3 7 7 1 .3 .2731997 7.90 8-7 3-1 0 0 0 27.1 40 30 24 22 14 0 3 3 0 6 .3331998 6.78 14-14 5-6 0 0 0 83.2 101 72 63 72 53 6 9 21 0 6 .301Total 6.30 40-3112-9 0 0 0 164.1 197 141 115 130 102 9 19 31 1 15 .298Batting StatisticsYear Avg G-GS AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB K HP SB-A SH SF TB Slg OBA1997 .321 51-47 187 42 60 40 16 3 8 18 44 2 8-8 0 3 106 .567 .3811998 .316 41-40 155 30 49 31 7 2 7 16 33 0 14-18 0 1 81 .523 .378Total .319 92-87 342 72 109 71 23 5 15 34 77 2 22-26 0 4 187 .547 .380