FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
Miami, June 13, 2008 – Miami Dade College (MDC) has always produced top Major League baseball players and the trend continues. Eight MDC baseball players were selected in the recent 2008 Major League Baseball draft making MDC a leader in the nation for colleges providing the largest number of recruits.
Leading the march for MDC is pitcher Eric Fornataro, a sophomore from Richmond, VA who turned down scholarships at top programs, the University of Miami and Louisiana State University, to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals. With a fast ball clocked in the high 90s, the right-hander was selected on June 5, day one of the draft, during the sixth round. Also selected and inking contracts were catcher Karim Turkamani, signing with Toronto, and right-handed pitcher Clayton Suss, chosen by Arizona.
This new generation of recruits continues the college’s tradition of producing top baseball players who go on to Major League baseball and other professional leagues around the world. They include MDC Hall of Famer Bucky Dent, Placido Polanco and Mike Piazza, just to name a few.
Other drafted players include centerfielder Chris Curran who just signed with Washington; infielder Carmelo Jaime (Round 24 to Detroit); outfielder Danny Rodriguez (Round 30 to Arizona); pitcher Reynaldo Cotilla (Round 32 to Kansas City); and pitcher Marcus Salmon (Round 48 to Milwaukee). Former Miami Dade College pitcher Elih Villanueva, a junior at Florida State University, was selected in Round 27 by the Florida Marlins.
In contrast to high schools, which provide about a third of recruits, colleges are growing in importance as the main source of first-year player draftees, according to the website MLB.com.
