June 10, 2015
THE FLATS – Seniors A.J. Murray and Daniel Spingola were drafted on Wednesday as the 2015 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft concluded. It marks the 15th consecutive year and the 34th time in the last 35 years that multiple Yellow Jackets were selected in a single draft.
Murray, a catcher selected in the 14th round by the Minnesota Twins (410th pick), and Spingola, an outfielder picked in the 31st round by the Chicago Cubs (923rd), join five high school draftees that had signed National Letters of Intent to attend Georgia Tech in the fall.
Tech’s two draft picks this season brings the total number of draft picks in program history to 189, with 128 of them coming in 22 seasons under head coach Danny Hall.
Incoming catcher Tyler Stephenson (Kennesaw, Ga./Kennesaw Mountain) was a first-round pick by the Cincinnati Reds (11th overall pick), while RHP Jonathan Hughes (Flowery Branch, Ga./Flowery Branch) went in the second round to the Baltimore Orioles (68th), catcher Joey Bart (Buford, Ga./Buford) in the 27th round by Tampa Bay (808th), shortstop Carter Hall (Alpharetta, Ga./Wesleyan) in the 34th round to Atlanta (1020th) and RHP Tristin English (Williamson, Ga./Pike County) in the 39th round to Cleveland.
Tech’s 11-man incoming class was ranked as high as the 11th-best by Perfect Game.
A.J. Murray – Senior – C – Westfield, N.J. (Westfield)
• Third Team All-ACC selection and an ABCA All-Region pick.
• Was one of three Jackets to start all 55 games in 2015 and finished his career playing in 193 games.
• Hit .279 this season, but upped his power by matching his career-high of 16 doubles and setting career-highs in home runs (15), RBI (51), runs (49) and slugging (.582).
• Led the club with 14 multi-RBI games and was second with 16 multi-hit games.
• Proved his versatility by making 15 starts at catcher, 11 in the outfield and 29 at designated hitter.
• Was drafted out of high school in the 48th round by the Houston Astros in 2011.
• Becomes the seventh Jacket drafted by the Twins and the third in four years joining pitchers Luke Bard (2012) and Sam Clay (2014).
Daniel Spingola – Senior – OF – Roswell, Ga. (Marist)
• Played in 49 games and made 47 starts in the outfield this season and finished his career playing 186 games.
• Hit .259 overall with eight doubles, a triple, two homers, 26 RBI and six stolen bases, but was hobbled late in the year by an ankle injury.
• This season, had a career-best 12-game hitting streak and a career-best and team-leading 26-game reached-base streak.
• Leaves Tech as a career .293 hitter with 22 doubles, nine triples, six homers, 80 RBI and 28-for-34 in stolen bases.
• Was drafted last year, also by the Chicago Cubs, in the 24th round on the heels of an All-ACC season but chose to return to Tech.
Georgia Tech Players In 2015 MLB Draft (complete list)
Rd. (Pick), Name, Pos., Team
1 (11) Tyler Stephenson, C, Cincinnati Reds*
2 (68) Jonathan Hughes, RHP, Baltimore Orioles*
14 (410) A.J. Murray, C, Minnesota Twins
27 (808) Joey Bart, C, Tampa Bay Rays*
31 (923) Daniel Spingola, OF, Chicago Cubs
34 (1020) Carter Hall, SS, Atlanta Braves*
39 (1174) Tristin English, RHP, Cleveland Indians*
