Four Hurricanes Drafted on Day 2 of the MLB Draft

June 8, 2004

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Miami first baseman Jim Burt was named the Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week on Tuesday and then drafted by the New York Mets in the 19th round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft.

J.D. Cockroft was also selected in the MLB Draft on Tuesday, going to the Texas Rangers in the 26th round. Hurricanes’ right-fielder Richard Giannotti was taken in the 38th round by the Anaheim Angles. Junior center fielder Danny Figueroa, who missed the entire 2004 season recovering from Tommy John surgery and arthroscopic shoulder surgery, was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 40th round.

Top-ranked Miami (47-11) had six players selected in the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft.

Burt was named the Louisville Slugger National Player of the week after hitting .667 with two home runs, two doubles and 11 RBI as Miami swept through the Coral Gables Regional.

The senior from Allendale, N.J., was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 35th round last year but returned to school. The decision proved to be the right one with Burt leading the Hurricanes hitting (.374), home runs (14), doubles (24), RBI (71), slugging percentage (.692) and on-base percentage (.466) in 2004. Burt will finish his Miami career ranked in the top 10 in nine different offensive categories.

Cockroft, a left-hander pitcher from Foster City, Calif., has 25 career wins for the Hurricanes after emerging form the bullpen to become the team’s ace early in the 2003 season. He went 11-3 with a save and a 2.72 ERA last season. In 2004, Cockroft is 9-4 with a 3.22 ERA in 95 innings of work.

Giannotti, a junior from Plantation, Fla., hit .273 for the season with four home runs and 32 RBI in just 34 starts. Figueroa, a Miami native and a graduate of Gulliver Prep, hit. .325 as a sophomore in 2003 with 40 stolen bases and a .460 on-base percentage.