Louisville’s MLB Draft Performance

In perhaps the best season in UofL Baseball, the University of Louisville Baseball team had a total of 7 players taken in the 2013 MLB Draft, which is the 2nd-highest amount in team history (the highest total is from the 2010 team, which had 10 players drafted).  Of those 7 Louisville players drafted this season, 2 of them were selected in the third round.  Results for the 7 players are as follows:

Cleveland Indians Pick No. 79, RHP Dace Kime

The Cleveland Indians selected Louisville RHP Dace Kime in the third round of this year’s draft with the draft’s 79th pick.  Kime is a very skilled reliever who pitched in 26 games for the Cards this season, starting in 8 of those games.  He’s originally from Defiance, OH, which is less than 160 miles from Cleveland, so looks like he could end up being a home-state favorite if he makes the big leagues.  One red flag about Kime is his 3.07 ERA, but that’s about it, giving the fact that he is 6-1 on the season.  Kime obviously has to be excited about being picked in the third round after being selected in round 8 right out of high school (which is still a respectable selection).

Detroit Tigers Pick No. 94, RHP Jeff Thompson

The Cardinals’ Pitching Ace was also selected highly this year, which makes sense after the fantastic season he’s been having, as well as his potential in the majors.  Thompson is a big man at 6’6″ and 245 lbs, but his fastball doesn’t have that speed that you’d think.  Thankfully, his other pitches make up for it, which is one of the reasons he’s 11-1 on the season, with a FANTASTIC 2.00 ERA.

Tampa Bay Rays Pick No. 218, 3B Ty Young

The best hitter for the Cards this year was picked in the 7th round.  Personally, I could’ve seen him being picked higher, but I’m ok just because I know that he can prove himself and make his way up the ladder.  After hitting .339 on the year, and leading the team in hits, triples, RBI’s, and going 26/31 on stolen base attempts, one can only be certain he can continue this level of success.

Miami Marlins Pick No. 322, OF Coco Johnson

One of Louisville’s standout players and fan favorites this year, Coco Johnson has drawn some heads and shown that he’s one of this team’s elite hitters and players in general.  In most every hitting statistic for the team, Johnson is in the top three for each one of those. With his performance in the postseason this year, I can’t imagine where UofL would be without him and his homeruns in the regionals and superb super regional performance.  It’s wise for Miami to take just about any player they can, given their current awful situation.

Detroit Tigers Pick No. 336, RHP Chad Green

The Detroit Tigers must have an affinity for Cards Pitchers, given that this is the second one that they took this year.  It’s even better given the fact that he’s Louisville’s other star pitcher.  Earning a 10-3 record this season along with a 2.29 ERA, Green’s performance on the mound definitely contributed to a fantastic season for the Cards.  He also pitched in the 5-3 win over Vandy this Saturday, which was his 10th win.  Definitely look to see him in perhaps the 2nd CWS game for the Cards (Monday, June 17th).  Also, I’m so wishing for him and Thompson to be successful for the Tigers, and hopefully we’ll be privileged to see those two leading the Tigers’ Rotation one day.

Texas Rangers Pick No. 460, LHP Cody Ege

Cody Ege has certainly proven himself this season as one of the most solid relievers on the team, only bested by closer Nick Burdi.  Ege has certainly proven to be a Cardinals’ bullpen asset, given the fact that they’ve used him in 36 games this season.  They also can trust him since he has shown that little to no runs get across when he’s on the mound, amassing a 4-1 record and 1.19 ERA.  The Rangers sure do have a good bullpen player who could definitely be a pretty good reliever one day, depending on how he improves.

Chicago White Sox Pick No. 573, OF Adam Engel

This year’s team captain, Engel certainly hasn’t been the best hitter for the Cards, which is sad because he gets the most at-bats as he is the Cards’ leadoff man.  He’s quick though, and his best area of the game is certainly in his stealing ability, amassing 41 steals this year, and 57 in his career.  Engel will have to improve on his hitting if he’s to go anywhere in the majors.  Also, he seems to be a very cool person, according to gocards.com:

"Person with the greatest influence on his athletic career his himself, because he is too competitive to do anything less intense. Favorite movie is Inception. Enjoys watching House. Favorite athlete is Michael Jordan. Favorite cereal is Peanut Butter Crunch. Favorite candy bars are Twix and PayDay. Favorite foods are steak and sweet potatoes. Favorite team is The Ohio State University football. Enjoys listening to rap. Favorite quote is “It’s not if, but when, you mess up. How you respond is what makes you who you are” by Coach Ogden. If he could have dinner with three people he would choose Michael Jordan, Brett Favre and Barry Sanders."

So there you have it; those are the players that will carry the Louisville torch on to the majors.  I know we wish them all the best and are so proud of them for making it to this point, whether they make the big leagues or not.  Go Dace Kime.  Go Jeff Thompson.  Go Ty Young.  Go Coco Johnson.  Go Chad Green.  Go Cody Ege.  Go Adam Engel.  Go Cards.