June 14, 2000

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - University of Virginia baseball players Jon Metzger (Fairfax, Station, Va./Lake Braddock), Tim LaVigne (Virginia Beach, Va./Cox) and Kevin Shrout (Murraysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) were selected in the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft. The trio of Cavaliers increased the total number of UVa baseball players chosen in the MLB Draft to 48 all-time at Virginia. Since 1989, 25 Cavaliers have been selected in the MLB Draft.

Metzger, a 6-3 left-handed pitcher, was the first Cavalier chosen in the draft. He was selected in the 13th round by the Kansas City Royals. Metzger finished the 2000 season with a record of 3-5 and an ERA of 8.01. He started six of the 11 games he appeared in and recorded 32 strikeouts over 39.1 innings of play. Opposing batters hit .316 off Metzger during the 2000 season.

LaVigne, a 5-11 fourth-year, was drafted in the 32nd round by the New York Mets. He was one of UVa's most versatile members of the team. Along with serving as one of Virginia's team co-captains, LaVigne logged a majority of his playing time at shortstop while sharing relief pitching duties. He ended his career at Virginia as UVa's all-time leader in saves (18), pitching appearances (92) and hit by a pitch (51). LaVigne started all 58 games this season at shortstop and appeared as a relief pitcher 26 times en route to a 4-0 record on the mound with a 3.23 ERA. He finished third on the team with 37 strikeouts despite pitching only 39 innings and posted a team-high seven saves.

As good as he performed as a pitcher for the Cavaliers, LaVigne developed into one of the top shortstops in the conference. He batted .320 for the year with 225 at-bats and was UVa's leader with a team-high 72 hits. LaVigne was tied for first on the squad with two triples, third on the team with 12 doubles and fourth on the club with four home runs. He posted a team-high 145 assists to go along with 77 putouts with a .949 fielding percentage after making numerous sensational plays on the field. LaVigne also finished fifth on the team with 39 runs scored and was 7-12 in stolen base attempts.

Shrout, a 6-2 right-hander, was chosen in the 43rd round of the draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. He developed into one of UVa's top pitchers this season. Shrout finished the year with a record of 4-4 and an ERA of 4.16. He stands third all-time at Virginia with 233 career strikeouts, tied for seventh with 15 career wins, and stands fifth all-time at UVa in both innings pitched (247.1) and appearances (60).

Shrout started 12 of the 15 games he appeared in this season and recorded a team-high 61 strikeout through 84.1 innings of work. He held his opposition to a .266 batting average and picked up one save on the year.

With three players selected from UVa in the draft this year, 2000 marked the 13th consecutive season that a player has been drafted from Virginia. Since 1976, the has been only four MLB Drafts ('77, '81, '84 and '87) that a UVa players was not chosen.

Here is a look at the all-time list of Virginia players selected in the MLB Draft:

Virginia Players in the Major League Draft