July 22, 2021 at 9:21 pm by Oliver Bley
Spanning Sunday, July 11 through Tuesday, July 13, the 2021 MLB draft marked another gradual step of the sports world returning to relative normalcy. Caveats were still undoubtedly present; the event overlapped with MLBâs All-Star Break in July rather than its typical slot in early June. Reported by Baseball Americaâs J.J. Cooper in early April, the delayed start was supplemented by the announcement that commissioner Rob Manfred and the MLBPA had settled on a 20-round draft. While reversion back to the usual 40-round format will have to wait another year (barring any bombshells in the collective bargaining discussions set to take place at the upcoming Winter Meetings), college and high school players, as well as general managers desperate to bolster depth, undoubtedly rejoiced. The 5-round format of 2020 which saw a plethora of big-league ambitions delayed or destroyed, while simultaneously forcing many clubs to reshuffle t
UCSB s Rodney Boone selected in the eighth round of the MLB Draft by Cleveland
and last updated 2021-07-13 18:55:00-04
UC Santa Barbara continues to produce incredible talent. On Sunday, Michael McGreevy was selected as the 18th overall pick by the St. Louis Cardinals. In the 2021 season, he posted a 9-2 record with a 2.92 era, recording 115 strikeouts.
On Monday, sophomore southpaw Rodney Boone was selected in the eighth round of the draft by the Cleveland Indians. He was taken with the 246th pick and will join fellow Gauchos Shane Bieber and Kyle Nelson in the Indians organization.
The Co-Big West Pitcher of the Year is the 52nd player selected in the Major League Baseball draft in the Andrew Checketts era.
That deception, and ball movement, are hallmarks mentioned on an MLB.com draft assessment of Boone.
Though not as high-profile a prospect as his rotation-mate McGreevy, Boone “was still impressing scouts with his ability to dominate opponents,” the MLB assessment said.
While his fastball velocity is below-average, topping out at 90 mph, Boone has shown “an ability to miss bats without premium stuff.”
“He commands the pitch well and isn t afraid to come up in the zone with it to get hitters to chase, and deception in his delivery allows it to play up. … He sells his 77-79 mph changeup, his best pitch, really well with good arm speed.”
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