Seven ACC players picked in first round of 2020 MLB Draft

by Press Release - Thu Jun 11 07:51:20 GMT-04:00 2020

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Seven Atlantic Coast Conference student-athletes were selected on the opening night of the 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Louisville pitcher Reid Detmers (10th overall pick, Los Angeles Angels), NC State catcher Patrick Bailey (13th, San Francisco Giants), Duke pitcher Bryce Jarvis (18th, Arizona Diamondbacks), Wake Forest pitcher Jared Shuster (25th, Atlanta Braves), North Carolina first baseman Aaron Sabato (27th, Minnesota Twins) and Louisville pitcher Bobby Miller (29th, Los Angeles Dodgers) all heard their names called in the first round Wednesday evening.

In addition, Miami pitcher Slade Cecconi was taken by the Diamondbacks as the 33rd overall selection as the fourth pick in Competitive Balance Round A.

The ACC’s seven total selections in the opening rounds are the second-most in conference history, one shy of the record eight taken in 2016.

Detmers posted a 3-0 record with a 1.23 ERA in the shortened 2020 season, striking out 48 with just six walks in 22 innings on the mound. The Chatham, Illinois, native ranked second nationally in strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings (19.64). The 2019 ACC Pitcher of the Year who posted a 13-4 record as a sophomore, Detmers finished with 284 career strikeouts, ranking fourth all-time at Louisville. His 20 career victories tie for ninth on the school’s all-time list.

Bailey batted .296 for NC State with a team-leading six home runs and 20 RBI in 2020. He finished second on the team with 20 runs scored and a .685 slugging percentage, and ranked top four in the ACC in RBI, home runs and walks (17). The Greensboro, North Carolina, native hit three grand slams in the 2020 campaign, which all came in an 11-day span. This marks the first time in program history that the Wolfpack has had first round picks in back-to-back years, as Will Wilson was selected 15th overall by the Los Angeles Angels in the 2019 MLB Draft.

Jarvis became the highest pick in Duke history in the first-year player draft and joins former Blue Devil standout Marcus Stroman as the second player in program history to be taken in the first round. The Franklin, Tennessee, native was tabbed as the ACC Pitcher of the Week twice this season, highlighted by his perfect game against Cornell on Feb. 21. He registered a career-high 15 strikeouts in that matchup on just 94 pitches while notching the 31st perfect game in NCAA Division I history.

Wake Forest’s Shuster is the seventh Demon Deacon to be selected in the first round of the MLB Draft. Shuster posted a 2-1 record in 2020 after a 4-4 season in 2019. In his four starts this year, he threw 26.1 innings and had an incredible 43 strikeouts to just four walks. The left-hander from New Bedford, Massachusetts, was tied for third in the ACC in strikeouts when the season came to a halt in mid-March.

North Carolina’s Sabato was voted the ACC Freshman of the Year and the NCBWA National Freshman Hitter of the Year in 2019 after batting .343 with a program freshman-record 18 home runs and 63 RBIs. The Rye Brook, New York, native smashed seven home runs in 2020, including six in the final six games of the season. He ended his sophomore campaign batting .292, slugging .708, while drawing 22 walks.

With Miller’s 29th overall selection by the Dodgers, Louisville became the only school in the country with multiple players taken in the first round of the 2020 draft. Miller was 2-0 in four starts in the shortened 2020 campaign, posting a 2.31 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 23.1 innings. For his three-year career, the right-hander from McHenry, Illinois, holds a 15-2 mark in 41 career appearances with 175 strikeouts.

A 6-foot-4 right-hander, Cecconi started four games on the mound for Miami in the shortened season. He went 2-1 with a 3.80 ERA, striking out 30 batters while walking just seven over 21.1 innings pitched. Opponents hit a meager .180 against Cecconi in 2020. A draft-eligible sophomore, Cecconi entered the 2020 season as a third team preseason All-American according to Baseball America. A Freshman All-American in 2019, Cecconi struck out 89 batters with 18 walks over 80 innings and posted a 5-4 record and 4.16 ERA in his debut season with the Hurricanes.

This marks the 29th consecutive year that at least one ACC player was taken in the opening round of the MLB Draft.

The 2020 MLB Draft concludes on Thursday evening with rounds two through five.

2020 MLB Draft Picks from the ACC

1/10 — Reid Detmers, Louisville, Jr., RHP, Los Angeles Angels

1/13 — Patrick Bailey, NC State, Jr., C, San Francisco Giants

1/18 – Bryce Jarvis, Duke, Jr., RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks

1/25 – Jared Shuster, Wake Forest, Jr., LHP, Atlanta Braves

1/27 – Aaron Sabato, North Carolina, So., 1B, Minnesota Twins

1/29 – Bobby Miller, Louisville, Jr., RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers

CB Rd A – Slade Cecconi, Miami, So., RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks