Five Georgia Tech players were selected Saturday in the final 30 rounds of the major league draft.
Pitcher Josh Heddinger was selected in the 14th round by the Detroit Tigers and pitcher Dusty Isaacs was taken by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 18th, followed seven picks later by pitcher Matthew Grimes to the Baltimore Orioles. Center fielder Daniel Spingola was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 24th round and infielder Mott Hyde was taken by the Houston Astros in the 26th round.
They followed reliever Sam Clay, who was picked Friday in the fourth round by the Minnesota Twins.
“It’s kind of all surreal my dream has finally come true,” Heddinger said.
None of Tech’s six signees were signed, meaning that coach Danny Hall won’t need to worry about any of his players abandoning their intentions to attend Tech to play professionally. Notable in the group was power-hitting outfielder/first baseman Kel Johnson from Palmetto, ranked No. 36 in the senior class by Perfect Game and rated the No. 268 draft prospect by Baseball America. Left-handed pitcher Daniel Gooden was also in Baseball America’s top 500 draft prospects at No. 494.
Heddinger, Grimes and Spingola are juniors and can choose to return to Tech for their senior seasons. Isaacs and Hyde’s Tech careers are complete. Heddinger described himself as being open to signing.
According to the Baseball America website, among 14th-round picks whose signing bonuses were reported, players taken in that round received between $100,000 and $135,000. Notably, 10 of the 13 college juniors who were drafted in the 14th round last year ultimately signed.
All made themselves draftable will strong seasons.
Heddinger made 14 starts and had a 3.94 ERA, down from 4.60 as a sophomore in a part-time starter role. He was undrafted coming out of high school. Going to the bullpen full-time, Isaacs thrived as a closer, finishing with a 1.92 ERA in 29 appearances and seven saves. His ERA was 4.90 last year as a starter. Notably, he allowed 11 home runs in 82 2/3 innings last year and just one in 61 innings this year. He was drafted in the 50th round after his high school career by Pittsburgh.
Grimes missed the 2013 season after having Tommy John surgery and made 12 starts. He had a 4.39 ERA and a 5-3 record. Despite missing all of last season, he was drafted in the 31st round last year by Philadelphia. He was picked in the fourth round by Chicago coming out of high school.
A junior walk-on who started just eight games as a sophomore last year, Spingola led the Yellow Jackets in batting average at .319 and also stole 15 bases in 16 attempts. He was not drafted and hardly recruited coming out of high school.
Hyde completed a career in which he ended as the ACC’s active leader in hits, RBI, total bases, games played and game started. He hit .282 with a .366 on-base percentage, both career bests, and helped the team set a school record for double plays. He was taken in the 44th round by Toronto coming out of high school.
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