Three Virginia players chosen

Watching a bench-clearing brawl between the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox unfold just feet away at Fenway Park on Thursday would have been among the highlight of the summer for most college baseball players.

Jeremy Farrell may be the exception to the rule.

On Friday, as Farrell headed back to Fenway Park to see his dad, the team’s pitching coach, he learned that he had been selected in the eighth round of the Major League Baseball draft.

Virginia’s first baseman was not alone — senior left-hander Pat McAnaney, senior reliever Michael Schwimer and six players in the program’s recruiting class were selected during the two-day draft’s final 44 rounds. St. Anne’s-Belfield pitcher/first baseman Kyle Long went to the Chicago White Sox in the 23rd round. Based on where he was selected, Long is expected to honor his commitment to play for Florida State and will be eligible for the draft again after his sophomore season based on his age.

The flurry of picks, coupled with the first-day selections of David Adams, Greg Miclat and Jacob Thompson, ensured that Virginia tied its program-best record of six draftees, a mark set last June.

“It is a sign that we are recruiting well and they are continuing to develop in our program,” said Virginia coach Brian O’Connor. “I want our players to have an opportunity to advance on to the next level of baseball at the time that they feel it is appropriate.”

In addition to recruiting for the Class of 2010, Virginia’s coaching staff will spend the summer monitoring developments in negotiations between the four underclassmen drafted (Adams, Farrell, Miclat and Thompson) and the seven incoming recruits that were selected, one of which (OF Peter Hissey) was picked in the fourth round by the Boston Red Sox on Thursday. It marked the first time under O’Connor that seven recruits had been selected.

The other potential Cavaliers selected included: LHP Danny Hulzten (10th round, Diamondbacks), 1B Tyler Massey (14th, Rockies), C John Hicks (31st, Angels), LHP/1B Scott Silverstein (32nd, Nationals), 3B Steven Proscia (39th, Twins) and RHP Will Roberts (49th, Angels).

The cat-and-mouse game with negotiations that can last until the deadline on Aug. 15 may be determined sooner rather than later for several. Farrell, finally healthy for a full season, may have his answer early next week. He should benefit from a longstanding relationship with first-year Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield, who worked closely with Farrell’s father, John, in the Cleveland Indians organization.

“We will likely begin negotiations Monday morning,” Farrell said. “I feel like I am ready to go out into pro baseball and I want to start my career, so we will see how it goes.

“The Pirates have expressed an interest and that is obvious because they picked me. We will talk in the next couple of days and we will see what we can figure out.”

While Adams appears a lock for the Yankees after his third-round selection, negotiations could be interesting for Miclat and Thompson. Both players are currently sitting firm in their demands to sign and forgo their final year of eligibility after being taken by the Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves, respectively.

“I definitely expected to go before that, but so many different things can happen,” said Thompson, who sports a 27-8 career record on the mound. “You never truly know what is going to happen with the draft. You can look at the Internet or on Baseball America and I never thought it mattered, but it is truly what happens that day. You know what happens that day and you don’t know anything before.

“I couldn’t be more excited though that it was the Braves. Atlanta was my favorite team growing up and it couldn’t have been more perfect. My 13-, 14-year-old days, I pretty much lived at Danville Braves games.”

Sources close to the Braves organization said Thompson was seeking a signing bonus around $500,000 and the club originally offered slot money, a figure between $150,000 and $200,000. The “slot” system for bonuses has been in effect for nearly a decade and is used as a cost-saving measure for MLB teams.

“It is all still up in the air,” Thompson said Friday. “The negotiations are still under wraps. I have still have a lot of thinking to do on it and we will see what happens.

“I will be the way that everyone wants me to be, happy and grin, but I won’t actually be that way until my name is signed on something and I’m off and playing somewhere.”

Donning a minor league uniform may come as early as next weekend for McAnaney and Schwimer, who have completed their eligibility.

McAnaney, who was 18-7 in his career, said he was shocked to be taken in the eighth round by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 258th overall selection.

“As far as the team, it was kind of a surprise,” the southpaw said. “I had filled out stuff for them, but during the day today, I talked a couple of other teams and they weren’t one of them until right before they picked me.

“As far as the money side of it goes, I don’t know too much. We will probably talk early in the week and figure all that out. Being a senior, I understand how all that works out. Right now, I am just happy they picked me and I’m looking forward to getting out there and pitching.”

Schwimer will not be as fortunate financially, but received a nice gesture from the Philadelphia Phillies after they took him in the 14th round with pick No. 436.

Since the right-handed reliever was taken after the 10th round, he expected to receive the typical senior bonus of $1,000 for a 14th-round player. Instead, the Phillies gave him $5,000 and a plane ticket to Clearwater, Fla., for his physical.

“To be completely honest with you, the Phillies were not on the radar,” said Schwimer, who tied a program record with 14 saves this year. “Twenty teams had called and they weren’t one of them. It was a weird situation.

“But I was so happy when my name popped up on the computer. I let out a good happy scream.”

After a brutal rookie campaign at Virginia in which he registered a 10.80 ERA and fanned just six batters, Schwimer evolved into a complete pitcher — something that might not have happened had he been drafted and went directly to the minor leagues.

“I don’t think it could have been done it without being at Virginia first,” Schwimer said. “It really helped me mature, and being selected in the draft is the final step in making it pay off.”

At least one incoming player appears comfortable following the same path.

Proscia, a standout in baseball and football at Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey, informed MLB teams that it would take near $1 million to bypass playing at Virginia.

“I think everyone’s dream is to get drafted and to see your name on the draft list is special, but obviously with the round and the money situation it is looking like I am going to be at Virginia,” said Proscia, a 6-foot-2, 210-pounder. “We haven’t really thought an exact number [financially] to sign … but right now Virginia is looking pretty good.

“I think we had a pretty good recruiting class — coach O’Connor and coach [Kevin] McMullan did a good job — and we have a bunch of great guys. Most, if not all, of us are going to end up at Virginia and that is good for us. I can’t wait to play with all of them.”

Two other players with UVa connections were chosen in the draft. Ryan Doolittle, the younger brother of former Cavaliers star Sean Doolittle, went to the Oakland Athletics — his brother’s organization — in the 26th round of the draft. The younger Doolittle, a right-handed pitcher, attended Cumberland County (N.J.) College this season after transferring from UNC Wilmington.

Former UVa pitcher Shooter Hunt, who finished his college career at Tulane, was chosen by the Minnesota Twins on Thursday with the 31st overall pick.