Four Bama Players Taken in MLB Draft
6/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.- Four members of the 2006 Southeastern Conference co-champion Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team were selected on the first day of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday. The draft consisted of 18 rounds on Tuesday and will continue Wednesday in New York.
Junior left-hander Wade LeBlanc was the first UA player taken as he went in the second round to the San Diego Padres. LeBlanc, a native of Lake Charles, La., was the 61st overall pick of the draft.
"It's real exciting," LeBlanc said. "Actually, San Diego is where I really wanted to go. They showed the most interest in me during the whole process. It worked out really well."
LeBlanc said he was listening the MLB draft on the internet in his Tuscaloosa apartment when he got the news on Tuesday.
LeBlanc was not the only UA player selected on the first day. Junior center fielder Emeel Salem (Mountain Brook) was a 10th round pick by the Baltimore Orioles. Salem was the 295th pick of this year's draft.
Senior catcher Kody Valverde (Baton Rouge) was also taken in the 10th round by the San Diego Padres. He was the 303rd player taken on Tuesday.
"I'm pretty pumped up about it," Valverde said. "I was surprised to be taken in the 10th round being a fifth-year senior. I just wanted a chance to play. I'm not worried about this right now, I just want to win this weekend and go to Omaha.
Valverde said he spent most of the day with LeBlanc and Salem and said that Salem told him he was the first, fifth-year senior drafted on Tuesday.
"Emeel told me I was the first, fifth-year senior taken in the draft," Valverde added. "I think that is pretty cool."
With the selection of LeBlanc and Valverde, the Padres have taken three UA players in the last two years. In 2005, San Diego took left hander Brent Carter in the seventh round. Carter is currently pitching for the Lake Elsinore Storm in the Class A California League.
The prospects of catching up with an old teammate made the day more exciting for LeBlanc and Valverde.
"I am hoping to catch up with (Brent) Carter if he does not move up too fast," LeBlanc said. "And then having (Kody) Valverde behind the plate is just extra comfort. We've been together the last two years and to have him keep on catching me is exciting."
"Three Alabama guys on the same team, that would be crazy," Valverde added.
Sophomore right-hander David Robertson was taken in the 17th round by the New York Yankees. He was the 524th overall pick.
Alabama also had three signees drafted on Tuesday. Billy Rowell (C, Bishop Eustace Prep) was taken in the first round as the ninth overall pick by the Baltimore Orioles. Bryant Thompson (RHP, Pensacola JC) was taken in the fourth round (117th pick) by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Del Howell (LHP, American Christian Academy) was taken in the 18th round as the 554th pick.
