Thursday's major league baseball first-year player draft changed the lives of two Georgia natives. Parkview outfielder Zach Cone was selected in the supplemental third round by the Los Angeles Angels as the 112th pick.

"It's amazing," said Cone, just moments after being chosen. "The Angels have been looking at me for awhile [and there's] something about California; it seems fun. I had a bunch of good friends, family, all my teammates [with me during draft]. It's a dream come true."

Cone hit .424 with a .515 on-base percentage and was 6-1 with a 2.58 ERA in his senior season at Parkview, which reached the Class AAAAA first round. Cone had signed with the University of Georgia, but Parkview coach Chan Brown was optimistic that his 6-foot-3, 200-pounder would make the jump to the pros. "I think the likelihood of him signing [with the Angels] is very high," said Brown. "He's pretty excited."

Georgia Tech outfielder Charlie Blackmon, a Suwanee native and a North Gwinnett graduate, was selected in the second round, 72nd overall, by the Colorado Rockies.

Blackmon, a redshirt junior, ended the 2008 season leading the Yellow Jackets in batting average (.396), hits (99), runs (68), stolen bases (25) and on-base percentage (.469) and was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference second team.

From 2005-06, he collected 15 wins in two seasons at Young Harris Junior College before redshirting at Tech his freshman season. Blackmon has been drafted twice before, both times as a pitcher, and never higher than the 20th round.