Five Cavaliers Chosen Tuesday in MLB Draft

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Five Virginia baseball players were selected Tuesday in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Rounds two through 30 were conducted Tuesday; Virginia’s Danny Hultzen (Jr., Bethesda, Md.) was selected in the first round Monday.

Virginia had three of its starting pitchers selected in the first 10 rounds, as Will Roberts (Jr., Richmond, Va.) and Tyler Wilson (Sr., Midlothian, Va.) joined Hultzen. Roberts was a fifth-round selection (158th overall) of the Cleveland Indians, while Tyler Wilson was a 10th-round pick (305th overall) by the Baltimore Orioles.

John Hicks (Jr., Sandy Hook, Va.) and Steven Proscia (Jr., Suffern, N.Y.) each were selected by the Seattle Mariners. Hicks was picked in the fourth round (123rd overall) and Proscia in the seventh round (213th overall). The two will join Hultzen in the Mariners organization.

Kenny Swab (Sr., Kernersville, N.C.) was selected in the 21st round (636th) by the Kansas City Royals.

Hicks was a Collegiate Baseball Third-Team All-American this year and also was a First-Team All-ACC selection as well as a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award. He has posted a big year at the plate, batting .339, which ranks 11th in the ACC. He also has 84 hits, which is fourth in the ACC. Hicks ranks in the ACC’s top 10 in hits (84, 4th), doubles (21, T4th), total bases (128, 6th), RBI (54, 8th). Hicks is third in Virginia history with 54 doubles and ninth in career runs (160). He currently has 237 career hits – 10th in UVa history.

Roberts has been brilliant on the mound for Virginia this year, going 11-1 with a 1.61 ERA. In 95 innings he has allowed just 17 earned runs, 67 hits and 12 walks while striking out 90. Batters are hitting.204 against him. He ranks among the ACC leaders in shutouts (3, T1st), complete games (3, 2nd), ERA (1.61, 2nd), wins (11, 3rd) and opponent batting average (.204, 7th).

Roberts tossed the eighth nine-inning complete game in NCAA Division I history on March 29 when he retired 27 straight George Washington batters. He also had a streak of 26.2 straight scoreless innings earlier this year.

Proscia was a First-Team All-ACC pick this year. He ranks among the ACC’s leaders in batting (.341, 8th), hits (85, 3rd), doubles (19, T8th), RBI (58, T3rd) and total bases (130, 3rd). Proscia holds a school-record 181 career RBI and also boasts 251 career hits, which ranks seventh in Virginia history. He owns 59 career doubles, which is second in the Virginia career annals, and has 28 career homers, which is tied for sixth at UVa.

A 2011 Second-Team All-ACC selection, Wilson is 8-0 with a 2.34 ERA in 14 starts (16 appearances) this year. In 88.1 innings he has allowed just 62 hits and 21 walks with 111 strikeouts (fifth most in ACC, fifth in UVa single-season history). Batters are hitting .197 against him this year. That is third lowest in the ACC.

He now owns 25 career wins, which is third in Virginia history (25-7, 2.93 ERA career). He ranks fourth in career pitching appearances at UVa with 88 (17 starts) and has racked up 254 career strikeouts, which ranks fourth in UVa history. He also is a finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.

Swab has hit .306 this season and was named to the ACC All-Tournament team after batting .438 (7-for-16) as the Cavaliers won the conference crown. In 52 games (49 starts), he has hit 16 doubles and a pair of triples while driving in 26 runs. He ranks second on the team with a .427 on base percentage and is tied for the team lead with 11 stolen bases.

The draft concludes Wednesday with rounds 31-50.

2011 Virginia MLB Draft Picks
Round/Selection
1/2 – Danny Hultzen, Seattle
4/123 – John Hicks, Seattle
5/158 – Will Roberts, Cleveland
7/213 – Steven Proscia, Seattle
10/305 – Tyler Wilson, Baltimore
21/636 – Kenny Swab, Kansas City