SIX BAMA BASEBALL PLAYERS ALONG WITH THREE 2009 BAMA SIGNEES DRAFTED BY MLB

BY NICK TAYLOR

The Alabama baseball team had two players taken on the final day of the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, raising its three-day total to six MLB draftees.Senior right fielder Kent Matthes (4th round, Colorado Rockies), senior catcher Vin DiFazio (12th round, Texas Rangers), junior left-hander Del Howell (15th round, Milwaukee Brewers) and senior right- hander Austin Hyatt (15th round, Philadelphia Phillies) were all drafted on Wednesday.

Alabama signees Judd Golson (31st round, New York Yankees), Trey Plikington (46th round, New York Mets) and Matt Taylor (50th round, Pittsburgh) were also selected on the final day of the draft.

Redshirt sophomore Austin Evans and junior Brandon May were taken on Thursday, the final day of the 50-round draft. Evans was taken with the 1,085th overall pick by the Cleveland Indians in the 31st round. May was the 1,100th overall draft selection by the Chicago Cubs in the 36th round.

“I think it’s a great opportunity and a real honor for me,” Evans said. “It is something I have dreamed about for a long time. I am glad it happened. I wasn’t really expecting to go early after talking to some teams yesterday and today, it was more of a later round deal for me.

“I am only a sophomore, so I have two more years of school. The Indians are going to watch me this summer and see how things go. I am still a couple of months away from making a decision. The leverage is in my court because I have two more years of school.”

Evans compiled a 2-1 record and 6.06 ERA with two holds and two saves in 12 relief outings this past season. He earned his first career win and recorded a career best four strikeouts in a win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on March 5. He notched his first career save against Samford on March 11. He added another win and save in two relief stints against Mississippi Valley State. Evans will be pitching his summer for the Vermont Mountaineers in the New England Collegiate Baseball League.

Brandon May hit .347 (77-for-222) with 12 home runs and 69 RBI, all career highs, in 58 games this past season. He also added 18 doubles and scored 53 runs and was second on the team with 25 multi-hit games.

A three-year starter, May hit .334 (208-for-622) with 21 home runs and 132 RBI in his 168-game career for the Tide. He also added 131 runs scored, 95 walks and 40 doubles. He is one of 16 players in school history with 200 career hits and has recorded 62 career multi-hit games, including 10 four-hit games. He was a first-team All-SEC selection in 2008, after hitting .365 (92-for-252) with nine home runs and 50 RBI as a junior. He also has 99 career SEC hits.

“It was exciting,” May said. “They are the Chicago Cubs. It would be cool to play at Wrigley Field. It is a great opportunity and I am not sure what will happen until I sit down with my parents and make a decision. It is a great organization to play for. Of course, everyone in college baseball dreams of winning the conference and going to Omaha, so if this does not work out, I will definitely come back and work toward those goals.”

COACH WELLS told THE TIDE TIMES Friday morning he expects the three underclassmen that got drafted; HOWELL, EVANS, AND MAY to return to school.