After a disappointing ending to an otherwise successful season, Florida had six of its 11 eligible players selected in the MLB Draft – two on Friday and four on Saturday.
Juniors Taylor Gushue and Justin Shafer were the first two Gators off the board, respectively.
The Pittsburgh Pirates took Gushue, UF’s starting catcher for the past two seasons, in the fourth round with the 131st overall pick. Just more than 100 picks later, the Toronto Blue Jays selected Shafer, a 6-foot-2 right-handed pitcher/outfielder, in the eighth round with the 234th overall pick.
The Blue Jays announced coming to terms with Shafer on Sunday, but the team did not release the details of the signing. However, Shafer’s value based upon his selection in the draft is estimated to be about $159,900, according to Baseball America.
Blue Jays director of amateur scouting Brian Parker said the organization will attempt to use Shafer as a full-time pitcher rather than have him pursue a future as a position player.
“(Shafer is) a guy we like and who’s really come on in the second half of the year,” Parker said to MLB.com.
Gushue, who is expected to come to terms with the Pirates before MLB’s July 18 signing deadline, has a pick value of $388,800.
Although Gushue, who took over as catcher after Mike Zunino was selected third overall by the Seattle Mariners in the 2012 MLB Draft, is expected to forego his senior season in Gainesville, Pittsburgh’s general manager Neal Huntington said the “signability” of players is not a top deciding factor when in the draft room.
“Signability never drives our selections,” Huntington said. “We make them based on how we like them.”
After Gushue and Shafer were taken on Friday, four more Florida players were chosen on Saturday, which marked the final day of the draft.
Redshirt junior Karsten Whitson was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 11th round with the 344th overall pick. The 6-foot-4 right-hander, who led the Gators pitching staff with 23 walks surrendered, was drafted in the 37th round by the Washington Nationals in the 2013 MLB Draft but opted to return to Florida.
Whitson will sign with the Red Sox within the next few weeks, according to MLB.com’s Red Sox beat writer Steven Petrella.
“The Red Sox saw something in me and they’re giving me an opportunity to work hard for a team that’s sticking their neck out for me,” Whitson said in an interview with Petrella.
Junior Casey Turgeon (St. Louis Cardinals, 24th round, 735th overall pick), junior Ryan Harris (Boston Red Sox, 26th round, 794th overall pick) and redshirt junior Keenan Kish (Cincinnati Reds, 34th round, 1,025th overall pick) rounded out the UF selections from this year’s draft.
Right-hander Grant Holmes, who verbally committed to Florida in March, was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers with the 22nd overall pick after finishing up his senior season at Conway High in Conway, S.C. Holmes’ slot value at No. 22 is $1,980,500.
Follow Jonathan Czupryn on Twitter @jczupryn
Justin Shafer bats during Florida’s 4-0 win against Maryland on Feb. 14 at McKethan Stadium.
