Miami Has Five Players Taken on Second Day of MLB Draft

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami baseball program saw five current student-athletes and two more signees from the 2011 incoming class all selected on the second day of the Major League Baseball Draft. Overall, UM has four 2011 signees taken in the draft across the first two days and five current players.

The first player taken Tuesday was junior first baseman Harold Martinez (Miami, Fla.). Martinez went to the Philadelphia Phillies in the second round with the 90th overall pick. He moved from third base to first base prior to the start of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) season against Virginia Tech. Martinez ended the year fourth on the team in batting average, collecting a .301 average on a team second-best tying 63 hits, slugging .392, and adding eight doubles, three home runs and his first career triple. He batted .327 in league play – using 4 hits, 12 runs and 20 RBI in 104 at-bats. Martinez finished the year claiming hits in nine of his last 10 games.

“I’m very excited and thankful to the Philadelphia Phillies for this opportunity to chase my dream of playing professional baseball,” said Martinez, who entered the season as a Louisville Slugger Preseason All-American (Third Team).

Sophomore Zeke DeVoss (Mims, Fla.) went moments after Martinez, being selected in the third round by the Chicago Cubs with the 98th pick. DeVoss, a member of the All-ACC and All-Gainesville [Fla.] Regional Teams in the postseason, was the only player on this year’s team to play and start in all 61 games. He finished the year leading the team in batting average (.340) – hitting a team-best .560 in the postseason that includes the ACC Tournament and NCAA Gainesville [Fla.] Regional. DeVoss led the ACC all season in stolen bases, finishing with 32. DeVoss claimed hits in his last 10 games, while reaching base safely in his last 36 contests. He batted a team-leading .600 on 21 hits, adding 10 runs, five RBI, four steals and 10 walks in the last 10 games of the year. He led the team in walks (57), hit by pitch (11), hits (73), runs (59) and tied for the lead in triples (3).

“Words can’t describe how I’m feeling right now,” stated DeVoss. “This is a tremendous honor, and I’ve been extremely blessed. I’m really looking forward to going home and spending some time with my family and celebrating the news.”

Junior relief pitcher Daniel Miranda went as the third Hurricanes player taken on the day, chosen by the St. Louis Cardinals in the eighth round with the 260th pick. Miranda saw action in 28 games out of the bullpen in the closer position for the Hurricanes. He ended the year with a 3-1 record on the hill, using an ERA of 2.67. He also finished the regular season tied for second in the ACC in saves, and closed with a team-leading and ACC second-best 15 saves – including post-season play. The left-hander picked up nine saves in ACC play – ending the regular season leading the league in that department.

“This is all just surreal, and is just a dream come true,” said Miranda after hearing his named called.

The first 2011 recruit for the Hurricanes to be selected on the second day was left-hand pitcher Andrew Suarez, a Miami native and product of Christopher Columbus High School. The Miami native was chosen by the Toronto Blue Jays in the ninth round with the 289th overall pick. Suarez was an all-Miami-Dade selection who was rated as the fifth-best player in the state of Florida by Perfect Game USA and 32nd nationally among high school products. He is a former teammate of current Hurricanes pitcher Javi Salas.

Jack Lopez (Deltona, Fla.) was chosen in the 16th round with the 486th pick by the Kansas City Royals. Lopez, a highly-touted recruit from the Daytona Beach suburb of Deltona, was signed by the Canes as a shortstop and is the son of Cincinnati Reds bullpen coach Juan Lopez. He entered the 2011 season Lopez batting .411 with five home runs, 26 RBIs and 28 runs scored for the Wolves last spring, and was a consensus All-Area pick for the second straight season.

Junior right-hander Travis Miller (Tequesta, Fla.) went to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 16th round with the 500th pick. He became the second UMiami player taken on the day by the Cards, and looks to join current big leaguer and former Hurricane Jon Jay with the organization. He made 17 appearances for the Hurricanes, all out of the bullpen, and ended the year with a 2.53 earned run average – including an ERA of 0.69 in nine Atlantic Coast Conference games. Completed his junior year 2-2 on the year with 21 1/3 innings worked. Miller fanned 28 batters and had an average against of .212, walking just five batters. He went 11 1/3 innings to begin the year without allowing an earned run.

“It’s a dream come true to play professional baseball,” said Miller. “I couldn’t be happier right now.”

The final selection from the Hurricanes program was junior center fielder Nathan Melendres (Miami, Fla.), going in the 17th round with the 513th pick to the Seattle Mariners. Melendres finished the year second on the team in batting average (.326) and played in 56 games with 54 starts. He was fourth-best on the team in hits (62) with a team second-best tying 14 doubles and finishing second on the team in steals (24). His 24 steals allowed him to finish in the Top 10 in the ACC during the regular season. Melendres slugged out two triples and two home runs, while leading the team with 11 sacrifice bunts.

The draft concludes Wednesday, June 8, in the late evening hours. For complete MLB Draft coverage, please visit MLB.com or click here.

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