Six more Gators were selected on the second day of the MLB draft Tuesday.
With the first pick in the second round and the 61st overall selection, the Houston Astros selected shortstop Nolan Fontana. Fontana is in his junior year at Florida, and is hitting .294 with nine home runs. He also has an on-base percentage of .414 and leads the Gators with 13 stolen bases on 14 attempts.
Next off the board from the Gators was junior reliever Steven “Paco” Rodriguez, who was selected 82nd overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Rodriguez has posted a 2.08 ERA this season with 79 strikeouts in 60.2 innings.
Closer Austin Maddox was the next Gator to go, coming off the board as the 118th overall to the Boston Red Sox, joining No. 31 overall pick Brian Johnson. Maddox has had a strong season, saving 12 games with a 2.24 ERA. He has struck out 55 batters and walked only eight in 52.1 innings for a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 6.9-to-1.
Senior Preston Tucker, who was picked by the Houston Astros at No. 219, was the next UF position player taken after Fontana. Tucker had another solid campaign, batting .316 with 16 home runs and a .579 slugging percentage. Tucker holds several school records, including games played, total bases, hits, RBI and doubles.
Friday night starter Hudson Randall was taken by the Detroit Tigers with the 244th overall selection. Randall has anchored the Gators’ pitching staff this season, leading Gator starters with a 2.83 ERA and a .239 batting average against.
The final Gator selected Tuesday was outfielder Daniel Pigott, who was taken 292nd by the Cincinnati Reds. Pigott, who went undrafted in last year's draft, leads the Gators with a .321 batting average and ranks third in OBP at .389.
Three more Gator commits from the 2013 class were drafted on Tuesday.
Outfielder Max White was taken 73rd by the Colorado Rockies, pitcher Jonathan Sandfort was taken 103rd by the Pittsburgh Pirates and shortstop Avery Romero was taken by the Miami Marlins at 104.
The draft picks up again Wednesday at noon in the 16th round.
