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ACC in the MLB Draft: Three ACC Players Among First 15 Picks in 2009 MLB Draft
June 9, 2009
Check back for more stories to follow as the draft proceeds... GREENSBORO. N.C – Three Atlantic Coast Conference student-athletes were among the first 15 chosen in the first round of Tuesday night’s Major League Baseball First-Year Draft. That included two of the first four selections, as North Carolina junior first baseman Dustin Ackley went second overall to the Seattle Mariners, and Boston College junior catcher Tony Sanchez went No. 4 overall to the Pittsburgh Pirates. North Carolina junior pitcher Alex White was taken by the Cleveland Indians at No. 15 overall. This marks the 18th straight year the ACC has seen at least one player taken in the first round of the MLB First-Year Draft (1992-2009). This also marks the eighth time in the last nine years the conference has seen multiple first-round selections. Five ACC players were first-round selections in 2008. A career .412 hitter, the 6-1, 184-pound Ackley is projected as an outfielder by most professional scouts. The Walnut Cove, N.C., native led North Carolina to its ACC-record fourth straight College World Series this season. He is currently batting .412 with an ACC-best 22 home runs, 70 RBI and 13 stolen bases. Ackley’s 338 career hits are the most in school history and tie for sixth-place on the ACC’s all-time list. Ackley hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning of Sunday’s Super Regioanl win over East Carolina to extend a 19-game hitting streak in NCAA play dating to North Carolina's final four games of the 2007 College World Series. He has a hit in 23 of 28 career postseason games and has 13 multi-hit efforts in NCAA play. Ackley is batting .545 (12-for-22) with nine RBI in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. The first three-time All-American in North Carolina school history, Ackley’s 22 home runs thus far are just two off the school record for a single season. Ackley set a single-season total bases record with his home run Sunday for a new total of 194. Sanchez became the highest pick in the Major League Baseball Draft in Boston College program history. Sanchez became the second Eagle to be selected in the first round and is the first position player to be picked in the opening round. Right-handed pitcher Chris Lambert was the only other player drafted in the first round out of Chestnut Hill when he was taken 19th by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004. The Miami, Fla., native was the first catcher taken in the draft. He is just the third catcher out of Boston College to be selected in MLB Draft history. Sanchez is currently one of three finalists for the 2009 Coleman Company-Johnny Bench Award, presented annually to the nation's top collegiate catcher. He was also named to the 2009 Louisville Slugger All-America Third Team and was tabbed as one of 30 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award, presented annually to the nation’s premier amateur baseball player. He was also the first player from Boston College to be voted to the All-ACC First Team. Sanchez currently ranks eighth in the ACC in runs (63), ninth in home runs (14), 10th in doubles (19) and slugging (.614), 12th in total bases (140), 16th in batting (.346) and 17th in hits (79) and on-base percentage (.443). He has also thrown out the most runners in the conference this season, catching opponents stealing 19 times. Sanchez’s 63 runs this season are a Boston College single-season record.. His 14 home runs are the third-most in a single season and his 79 hits are fourth. Sanchez has established himself as one of the most productive hitters in BC history. He ranks fifth all-time at Boston College in home runs with 24 and RBI with 124, sixth in hits with 202 and eighth in runs with 125. The right-handed White was the pitcher of decision in all three wins by the Tar Heels in last year’s College World Series and has 27 wins in three years as a college pitcher. This season has seen the Greenville, N.C., native post an 8-4 record with a 4.13 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 98 innings. With Saturday's victory over East Carolina in the Super Regional, White became the winningest postseason pitcher in North Carolina history with his sixth NCAA win. White worked at least seven innings for the fourth time in his postseason career and pitched into the ninth for the second time in NCAA action. White struck out a career-best 12 batters for the sixth double-digit strikeout game of his career. The 12 strikeouts were also a single-game season-best for North Carolina this season. White worked at least seven innings for the seventh time in 15 starts and lasted at least eight innings for the fourth time. With 305 career strikeouts, White is just the second Tar Heel with 300 career strikeouts behind former All-American Andrew Miller’s school-record 325.
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