June 6, 2012
ATLANTA – Two more Georgia Tech baseball players were selected Wednesday, as the 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft concluded. Senior 1B/LHP Jake Davies was chosen in the 21st round by Boston and sophomore CF Kyle Wren went to Cincinnati in the 30th round.
Davies (661st pick) and Wren (922nd) join Luke Bard (supplemental first round, Minnesota), Brandon Thomas (fourth round, Pittsburgh) and Buck Farmer (15th, Milwaukee), who had been selected over the draft’s previous two days. Additionally, incoming freshman SS Matt Gonzalez was drafted in the 11th round (349th overall) by Oakland.
In the program’s history, now 152 players have been drafted a total of 177 times. Under head coach Danny Hall, 101 players have been drafted a total of 113 times. Hall has produced 35 selections in the top-five rounds and 48 in the top-10 rounds.
Davies’s selection by the Red Sox caps a remarkable two weeks for the senior, who was the ACC tournament MVP and helped lead Tech the championship game of the NCAA Gainesville Regional. Davies accumulated 15 RBI and five homers while hitting .344 over the Jackets’ eight games in the postseason. He also pitched a career-best six innings of two-hit, one-run ball in an ACC tournament win over Clemson. For the season, the second-team All-ACC pick led the league with 73 RBI and hit .326 with 11 doubles, 14 homers and just 24 strikeouts in 239 at bats. His 73 RBI are tied for the 14th most at Tech in a single season.
Wren, a draft-eligible sophomore, hit .256 this season, with 10 doubles, six triples, 22 RBI, led the team in stolen bases (16) and was second in runs (56). The speedster has patrolled center field for the Yellow Jackets over 125 starts in his first two seasons, and has four outfield assists (three in 2012). Wren homered twice as a sophomore, including an inside-the-park home run on the first pitch of a game versus Clemson (April 28) for Tech’s first inside-the-park homer since Tyler Greene in 2005. With 13 career triples, Wren ranks tied for fifth on Tech’s all-time list.
Tech’s five selections during the 2012 First-Year Player Draft were the fourth-most in the ACC, and it marks the 12th consecutive season that the Jackets have produced four or more draft picks.
Georgia Tech in the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft
Luke Bard, RHP – Supplemental First Round – 42nd pick – Minnesota Twins
Brandon Thomas, OF – Fourth Round – 136th pick – Pittsburgh Pirates
*Matt Gonzalez, SS – 11th Round – 349th pick – Oakland Athletics
Buck Farmer, RHP – 15th Round – 485th pick – Milwaukee Brewers
Jake Davies, 1B – 21st Round – 661st pick – Boston Red Sox
Kyle Wren, CF – 30th Round – 922nd pick – Cincinnati Reds
*incoming freshman
Tech in the Draft By The Numbers
First/Supplemental Round Selections: 16 (under head coach Danny Hall: 13)
Second Round Selections: 6 (under Hall: 4)
Top Five Rounds: 51 (under Hall: 35)
Top 10 Rounds: 78 (under Hall: 48)
Total Number of Tech players drafted: 152 (under Hall: 101)
Total draft selections: 177 (under Hall: 113)
