Andrew Abbott and Zack Gelof highlight five selections from the Virginia baseball program taken on Day 2 of the 2021 MLB Draft.
Abbott was taken in the second round with the 53rd pick by the Cincinnati Reds. The senior lefthander was 9-6 with a 2.87 ERA in 2021, with 162 strikeouts and 32 walks in 106.2 innings.
That slot should net a bonus of $1.37 million for Abbott, who had been expected to go in the 2020 MLB Draft, but was left unpicked in the slimmed-down five-round draft last summer.
Good thing for him, from the bonus perspective.
Gelof, a third baseman, was taken in the second round with the 60th pick by the Oakland A’s. Gelof slashed .312/.393/.485 with nine homers and 41 RBI in 2021, and was third on the team with 12 stolen bases in 13 attempts.
Gelof’s draft slot puts him in line for a $1.16 million bonus.
The next selection was incoming Class of 2021 recruit Shane Panzini, a righthanded pitcher from Spring Lake, N.J., who was taken in the fourth round with the 108th pick by the Kansas City Royals.
Panzini, with a fastball that tops out at 98, and sits 91-95 in starts, was 9-0 with a 0.91 ERA in 2021 at Red Bank Catholic, with 115 strikeouts in 61.2 innings.
His draft slot would put him in line for a $538,000 bonus, were he to bypass college to sign.
Panzini is the second Class of 2021 recruit to have his name called in the 2021 draft. Lewisberry, Pa., outfielder Benny Montgomery went to the Colorado Rockies with the eighth pick in the first round of the 2021 MLB Draft Sunday night.
That signing bonus is Monopoly money: $5.18 million.
Griff McGarry, who had pitched himself out of the rotation in April, then rebounded with a pair of light-out starts in the Super Regional and College World Series, was taken in the fifth round with the 145th pick by the Philadelphia Phillies.
No need to rehash his awful season numbers here. Just remember: seven shutout innings in the Super Regional, a no-hitter into the eighth in the CWS.
His bonus slot calls for a $375,000 bonus. Not bad for a guy who couldn’t get an inning in a blowout in April and into May.
Last but not least, Mike Vasil, another guy who was almost forgotten, then had a bangup effort in Omaha.
Vasil was taken in the eighth round with the 232nd pick by the New York Mets.
His draft slot calls for a $181,000 bonus.
Story by Chris Graham
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