Six Players With MDC Connections Drafted In MLB Draft
During this year’s Major League Baseball Draft, which took place from June 9 through 11, six players were drafted that have played for Miami Dade College. Three of the players played for MDC this past season; the other three had played recently at MDC several years ago.
The players drafted were Kevin Santiago, Nelson Mompierre, Santiago Espinal, Jose Gomez, Armando “Mandy” Alvarez and Colyn O’Connell.
Santiago, who was picked by the Tampa Bay Rays with the 600th pick in the 20th round, played shortstop in his lone season with MDC this past year. He recorded 34 RBI, two home runs and a .303 batting average.
Santiago signed with the Rays on July 12. He was assigned to the team’s minor league affiliate, the Gulf Coast League Rays.
Mompierre, who was picked in round 38— 1,139th overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks—was the starting catcher this past year for the Sharks. During his sophomore season, Mompierre had 31 RBI, three home runs and a .355 batting average.
He has not signed with the Diamondbacks as of yet.
Espinal, who was one of the top performers on the team last year, was drafted by the Boston Red Sox with the 298th pick in the 10th round. Espinal, a shortstop, recorded 28 RBI, batted .432, and had a team-high 15 stolen bases during his freshman campaign.
He signed with the Red Sox on July 7 and has been assigned to the team’s minor league affiliate, GCL Red Sox.
Jose Gomez, who played at St. Thomas University last season (he played at MDC during the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 seasons) was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in round 39—1,161st overall. Gomez, a center fielder, had a combined five home runs, 50 RBI, and 40 stolen bases in his two seasons with the Sharks.
He signed with the Brewers on June 20 and has been assigned to the team’s minor league affiliate, the Arizona League Brewers.
O’Connell, who played at Florida Atlantic University last year (he played at MDC in the 2014-15 season), was drafted by the Detroit Tigers with the 775th pick in the 26th round. In his lone season with MDC, O’Connell recorded 49 strikeouts and an earned run average of 5.17 in 62.2 innings pitched.
He signed with the Tigers on June 23 and has been assigned to the team’s minor league affiliate, the GCL Tigers West.
Armando “Mandy” Alvarez, who played at Eastern Kentucky University last year (he played at MDC in the 2013-14 season), was drafted by the New York Yankees with the 518th pick in the 17th round. Alvarez, a third baseman, recorded 26 RBI, batted .373 and had six stolen bases.
Alvarez signed with the Yankees on June 10 and has been assigned to the team’s minor league affiliate, the Charleston RiverDogs.
