June 8, 2013
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech senior 3B Sam Dove and junior RHP Matthew Grimes were each selected by the Philadelphia Phillies as the 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft came to a close on Saturday. A total of seven Yellow Jackets, plus two commitments were chosen in the draft.
Dove, a two-year team captain, was selected by the Phillies in the 14th round with the 421st overall selection. Grimes, who missed the 2013 season with an arm injury, was taken by the Fightins in the 31st round with the 931st pick.
In all, Georgia Tech’s seven draft picks led the Atlantic Coast Conference and are the Jackets’ most since 10 in 2010. ACC programs combined for 40 picks – seven for the Jackets, six each for Virginia Tech and North Carolina, five for Florida State, four each for Maryland and Miami, three for Virginia, two each for Wake Forest and NC State and one for Clemson. It’s the eighth consecutive year, and ninth time in the past 10 years, that the ACC has produced at least 40 draftees.
Tech tied a school record with five picked in top-10 rounds — junior RF Daniel Palka (3rd round, Arizona), junior C Zane Evans (4th round, Kansas City), senior RHP Buck Farmer (5th round, Detroit), junior OF Kyle Wren (8th round, Atlanta) and senior OF Brandon Thomas (8th round, New York Yankees).
All-time, 154 Tech players have been drafted a total of 184 times. Under head coach Danny Hall, Tech has produced 103 players that have been drafted 120 times. Tech has had 53 draftees in the top-five rounds (37 coming under Coach Hall) and 82 in top-10 rounds (52 under Coach Hall).
Sam Dove – 14th round (421st overall) Philadelphia Phillies
Dove hit .288 his senior season with 14 doubles, three triples, three home runs, 30 RBI, seven stolen bases and scored 47 runs. The Brentwood, Tenn., native turned it on over the final 23 games by hitting .325 (27-for-83) and earning a spot on the ACC All-Tournament Team. A two-year captain, he also held down the left corner of Tech’s infield and fielded at an impressive .951 clip. The Jackets were third in the ACC in fielding percentage and led the ACC in double plays turned. Dove played 193 games in his Tech career and finished as a .313 hitter.
Matthew Grimes – 31st round (931st overall) Philadelphia Phillies
Grimes has played in just five games over the last two seasons, suffering an injury early last year and missing all of this season. Grimes was 7-4 with a 4.15 ERA as Tech’s midweek starter his freshman season, and was 3-2 in 2012 with a 3.38 ERA. The Hoschton, Ga., native was drafted out of Mill Creek High School in the fourth round by the Chicago White Sox, but chose to enroll at Tech.
Notes: Grimes and Dove become the fourth and fifth Yellow Jackets to be drafted by the Phillies and the first since OF Jeremy Slayden in 2005.
Georgia Tech Players In 2013 MLB Draft
Rd. (Pick), Name, Year, Pos., Team
3 (88) Daniel Palka, Jr., OF, Arizona Diamondbacks
4 (114) Zane Evans, Jr., C, Kansas City Royals
5 (156) Buck Farmer, Sr., RHP, Detroit Tigers
8 (253) Kyle Wren, Jr., OF, Atlanta Braves
8 (254) Brandon Thomas, Sr., OF, New York Yankees
14 (421) Sam Dove, Sr., 3B, Philadelphia Phillies
31 (931) Matthew Grimes, Jr., RHP, Philadelphia Phillies
Georgia Tech Signees In 2013 MLB Draft
Rd. (Pick), Name, Pos., Team
2 (37) Josh Hart, OF, Baltimore Orioles
8 (229) Terry McClure, OF, Colorado Rockies
