June 6, 2006
ATLANTA –
Six Georgia Tech players – 3B Wes Hodges, RHP Blake Wood, 1B Whit Robbins, LHP Lee Hyde, RHP Tim Gustafson and OF Jeff Kindel – were selected on the first day of the 2006 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday. Pitcher John Goodman was selected on day two of the draft.
Hodges was selected in the second round by the Cleveland Indians with the 69th overall pick. A 14th round draft pick out of high school, Hodges is batting .337 with 11 home runs and 64 RBI in 2006 after batting .397 in 2005.
Wood was taken with the first pick in the third round by the Kansas City Royals, the 77th overall selection. The hard throwing right-hander is 20-5 with a 4.05 ERA over the last two seasons.
Robbins was selected in the fourth round by the Minnesota Twins. Undrafter out of high school, the junior first baseman is batting a team-high .358 with 12 homers and 63 RBI in 2006.
Hyde was taken by his hometown Atlanta Braves in the fourth round after being undrafted out of high school. In 23 appearances, including nine starts, the southpaw is 5-0 with a 3.15 ERA.
Gustafson, like his teammate Hyde, was selected by the Braves in the ninth round after being undrafted out of high school. He is 2-0 with four saves and a 3.94 ERA in 15 appearances in 2006.
A two-time All-ACC selection, Jeff Kindel was drafted in the 14th round by the Colorado Rockies. He is batting .337 with 11 home runs and 49 RBI, and owns a .349 career batting average.
Goodman was selected in the 45th round by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Georgia Tech Players in the DraftPlayer Class Pos. Round/Pick TeamWes Hodges Jr. 3B 2nd/69 IndiansBlake Wood Jr. RHP 3rd/77 RoyalsWhit Robbins Jr. 1B 4th/119 TwinsLee Hyde Jr. LHP 4th/130 BravesTim Gustafson Jr. RHP 9th/280 BravesJeff Kindel Sr. OF 14th/408 RockiesJohn Goodman So.-R RHP 45th/1362 Cardinals
Georgia Tech Signees in the Draft Player Pos. Round/Pick Team Torre Langley C 3rd/90 Marlins Zach Von Tersch RHP 38th/1141 Nationals