MLB Draft live updates: Cary’s Greg Jones taken in Round 17
The MLB Draft wraps up Wednesday with the last 900 picks in Rounds 11-40. Keep following along to find out which players from high schools and colleges in North Carolina are selected and find out who was already taken Monday and Tuesday in the first 10 rounds.
Terence Connelly (UNC Wilmington): Round 40, Pick 1192 (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Connelly struggled this year in his return from an arm injury that kept him out for most of the 2016 season, batting just .179. He had his best year as a junior in 2015, batting .344 and earning second-team All-CAA recognition.
Zack Gahagan (North Carolina): Round 39, Pick 1157 (Cincinnati Reds)
After a high school career at North Henderson High School in Hendersonville, N.C., Gahagan came to Chapel Hill as one of the top 100 shortstop recruits in the nation according to Perfect Game, and he has been a regular starter at the corner infield positions for the last three years. Gahagan slumped a bit this year, batting .243 with 16 extra-base hits after finishing his sophomore year in 2016 with a .297 average.
Cody Roberts (North Carolina): Round 38, Pick 1139 (Miami Marlins)
Roberts is a draft-eligible sophomore since his 21st birthday is within 45 days of the end of the draft. The sophomore catcher threw out 13 base-stealers his freshman year and has started more than 100 games behind the plate in his two years in Chapel Hill. He hit .268 with 11 doubles this season.
Wil Hoyle (Charles E. Jordan HS; Durham, N.C.): Round 38, Pick 1131 (Oakland Athletics)
Hoyle, who is committed to play for Duke in college, was a speedy contact hitter at Jordan High School in Durham. The 5-foot-9 second baseman batted .408 as a junior and .360 as a senior.
Spencer Smith (Northern HS; Durham, N.C.): Round 37, Pick 1124 (Texas Rangers)
Smith. a power-hitting catcher out of Northern Durham, hit 23 home runs in his high school career and finished with 100 RBIs. He is committed to play in college for East Carolina.
Patrick Bailey (Wesleyan Christian Academy; High Point, N.C.): Round 37, Pick 1096 (Minnesota Twins)
Bailey scored the game-winning run in the 12th inning of this spring’s NCISAA 3A state championship to help Wesleyan Christian to its second straight title. The switch-hitting catcher is committed to play in college for N.C. State.
Zach Almond (Catawba College): Round 35, Pick 1042 (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Almond went to North Stanly High School in New London, N.C., and played at UNC Greensboro before transferring to Catawba, where he starred with a .364 batting average and 17 home runs this season.
Tim Naughton (N.C. State): Round 34, Pick 1028 (Baltimore Orioles)
Naughton had an effective year as a redshirt sophomore with 11 appearances out of the bullpen in 2017, giving up four earned runs in 12 innings. He went to Charles B. Aycock High School in Goldsboro, N.C. Expect Naughton to return to school and play his way into a higher round in the next year or two.
Robbie Thorburn (UNC Wilmington): Round 31, Pick 938 (Baltimore Orioles)
A product of Cardinal Gibbons in Raleigh, Thorburn had his best year in 2016 with a .364 batting average and followed that up this year by hitting .289 with a two home-run game against the College of Charleston March 31.
Jimmy Herron (Duke): Round 31, Pick 932 (New York Yankees)
Herron is a rare draft-eligible sophomore since he will turn 21 within 45 days of the end of the draft—with a July 27 birthday, he snuck inside the cutoff by two days. The outfielder has been Duke’s leadoff man for most of his two years in Durham and hit better than .320 in both 2016 and 2017.
Herron has used his speed to lead the Blue Devils in doubles and stolen bases in both years of his career, but he also developed some power this season with five home runs.
Will Robertson (Davidson): Round 30, Pick 908 (Baltimore Orioles)
Robertson led the Wildcats with a .333 batting average and 18 home runs this year and had a critical two-run single in Davidson’s 2-1 upset win against North Carolina June 4 to clinch the Chapel Hill regional in the NCAA tournament.
Cody Beckman (N.C. State): Round 30, Pick 894 (Milwaukee Brewers)
Beckman was drafted in the 25th round last summer but returned for an unspectacular redshirt junior season, making 17 appearances primarily out of the bullpen and posting a 4.85 ERA. He could turn his back on the draft for the second straight year and return to Raleigh next spring for his final year of eligibility.
Gavin Williams (Cape Fear HS; Fayetteville, N.C.): Round 30, Pick 889 (Tampa Bay Rays)
A 6-foot-6 right-hander, Williams missed the start of this spring’s season with a knee injury but finished his abbreviated year 6-0 with a 0.35 ERA. He is MLB.com’s No. 119 prospect in the draft, but slipped to the 30th round and may have his mind set on honoring his commitment to East Carolina next year.
Chandler Seagle (Appalachian State): Round 30, Pick 888 (San Diego Padres)
Seagle hit just .179 this season for the Mountaineers, but is more of a weapon behind the plate. He threw out 29 base-stealers in his first two years and had 50 assists this season.
Wood Myers (Coastal Carolina/Jordan HS): Round 29, Pick 874 (St. Louis Cardinals)
Myers laid his roots in the Triangle before starring in his lone season at Coastal Carolina this spring. He was an all-state player at Jordan High School in 2012 and 2013 and played two years for North Carolina before transferring to Chipola College and then to the Chanticleers.
Brock Deatherage (N.C. State): Round 29, Pick 868 (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Deatherage had an impressive sophomore season in 2016 with a .317 batting average, six home runs—including one in the NCAA tournament—and 14 stolen bases, but he regressed this spring, batting just .218 and striking out 57 times. The Burlington, N.C., native could still come back for another year with a chance at becoming a higher draft pick next summer.
A.J. Bumpass (Cincinnati/Northern Durham High School): Round 29, Pick 857 (Cincinnati Reds)
Before Bumpass left the state for college and was a regular starter in the outfield for Cincinnati this spring, he earned PAC All-Conference recognition all four years of high school at Northern Durham.
Griffin Roberts (Wake Forest): Round 29, Pick 856 (Minnesota Twins)
Roberts was the Demon Deacons’ closer this season, appearing in 29 games and posting a 2.19 ERA with eight saves. Just a redshirt sophomore, he struck out 80 batters in 53 1/3 innings to make him one of MLB.com’s top 200 draft prospects, and he can still take another year in two in school to rise on draft boards.
Kier Meredith (Robert B. Glenn High School; Kernersville, N.C.): Round 28, Pick 855 (Chicago Cubs)
Meredith hit .444 and stole 19 bases as a senior in high school this fall, and he was anointed the top defensive outfielder in the nation among high school seniors by Baseball America. He is committed to play at Clemson if he passes on signing with the Cubs.
Zach Jarrett (UNC Charlotte): Round 28, Pick 848 (Baltimore Orioles)
A left fielder from Hickory, N.C. Jarrett had a breakout season as a senior this spring with a .342 batting average and a team-high 13 home runs to put himself on the map.
Kodi Whitley (University of Mount Olive): Round 27, Pick 814 (St. Louis Cardinals)
The first player from Cleveland High School in Johnston County ever to be drafted, Whitley missed nearly two years of college due to arm injuries that required Tommy John surgery, but returned in May of this year and impresses scouts with a 95 mile-per-hour fastball.
Ben Spitznagel (UNC Greensboro): Round 27, Pick 801 (Oakland Athletics)
After transferring from Wabash Valley Community College, Spitznagel hit better than .350 in both his years with the Spartans as a speedy contact hitter.
Tommy DeJuneas (N.C. State): Round 26, Pick 792 (Cleveland Indians)
DeJuneas came out of Providence High School in Charlotte to be a valuable bullpen weapon for the Wolfpack for the last three years. The junior right-hander struggled with his command at times this year, walking nearly as many batters as he struck out, but has a lot of potential with a fastball in the mid-90s.
Austin Hutchison (University of Mount Olive): Round 26, Pick 783 (Seattle Mariners)
Hutchison was the ace of Mount Olive’s staff this season, going 12-1 with a 1.82 ERA as a senior. The Trojans now have four players drafted this year for the first time since 2008.
Kory Behenna (Wingate University): Round 25, Pick 761 (Boston Red Sox)
Behenna went to Riverside High School in Durham and has had an effective three-year career at Division II Wingate, coming out of the bullpen 14 times this year and finishing with four saves.
Thomas St. Clair (Lenoir-Rhyne): Round 24, Pick 724 (St. Louis Cardinals)
A senior right-hander from Winston-Salem, St. Clair was dominant at the Division II level this year with a 10-4 record and 2.28 ERA. He overpowered opponents with 116 strikeouts in 87 innings on the mound.
Zack Mozingo (University of Mount Olive): Round 23, Pick 679 (Tampa Bay Rays)
Mozingo, an East Carolina transfer that played for Eastern Wayne High School in Goldsboro, N.C., had 13 saves this spring as Mount Olive’s closer and led the team with a 1.22 ERA and 13.4 strikeouts per nine innings. He also hit 16 home runs and had a .338 batting average at the plate.
Brett Pope (Western Carolina): Round 22, Pick 658 (Pittsburgh Pirates)
A three-year starter at shortstop for the Catamounts, Pope was second on the team in 2017 with a .342 batting average and led the team with 15 stolen bases in 2017.
James Ziemba (Duke): Round 22, Pick 655 (Los Angeles Angels)
Ziemba has been a key arm in Duke’s bullpen for the last three years and is one of college baseball’s tallest players at 6-foot-10. In high school, he was teammates in basketball with Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns. The redshirt junior has appeared in 53 games for the Blue Devils, peaking with a 3.95 ERA in 2016, and he was a 37th-round draft pick last summer.
Brian Mims (UNC Wilmington): Round 22, Pick 653 (Philadelphia Phillies)
Mims was an All-American at second base in 2016 with 14 home runs and 54 RBIs, and he remained one of UNC Wilmington’s key contributors in 2017, leading the team in hits as a junior.
Justin Bellinger (Duke): Round 22, Pick 647 (Cincinnati Reds)
Bellinger was the catalyst for the Blue Devils’ late-season run to the NCAA tournament in 2016, entering the lineup at first base and finishing the year with a team-high .336 batting average. But he could never crack the starting lineup consistently after an early-season injury in 2017, batting just .193 in 34 games.
A 6-foot-6, Bellinger has always been a highly-regarded power hitter, and he was picked in the 11th round of the 2014 MLB Draft before deciding to go to school. He still has one year of college eligibility left if he wants to raise his draft stock back to where it was when he finished high school.
Bryan Blanton (Catawba College): Round 21, Pick 632 (New York Yankees)
An Albemarle, N.C., native, Blanton has been a mainstay in Catawba’s bullpen for the last three years, saving 14 games in 2017 and 25 in his career.
Jack Maynard (UNC Greensboro): Round 21, Pick 622 (Arizona Diamondbacks)
A 5-foot-11 pitcher, Maynard started his career at Patrick Henry Community College before joining the Spartans in 2017. He appeared in 23 games for UNC Greensboro, starting seven and notching three saves out of bullpen, and he tied for the team lead with 80 strikeouts.
Connor Johnstone (Wake Forest): Round 21, Pick 620 (Atlanta Braves)
Johnstone was the Demon Deacons’ most effective pitcher this season, going 8-0 with a 3.61 ERA, and sets a program record as the seventh player drafted out of Wake Forest this season. He primarily pitches to contact and struck out just 69 batters in more than 90 innings in 2017.
Casey Golden (UNC Wilmington): Round 20, Pick 596 (Colorado Rockies)
Golden was named the 2017 CAA Player of the Year after hitting 21 home runs and batting .310 for the Seahawks. The 6-foot-2 slugger swings for the fences and struck out a team-high 73 times this year. He is from Chatham County and played at Jordan-Matthews High School.
Jonathan Pryor (Wake Forest): Round 19, Pick 583 (Washington Nationals)
A 6-foot-2 left fielder, Pryor was a regular starter for the last three years for the Demon Deacons and led the team with 21 doubles as a senior this spring. The leadoff man did not miss a game this season and hit .354 to help lead Wake Forest to the super regionals.
Noah Campbell (Cardinal Gibbons HS; Raleigh, N.C.): Round 19, Pick 564 (Milwaukee Brewers)
Campbell, A South Carolina commit, has batted better than .440 in each of his last three years at Cardinal Gibbons, and he had more home runs than strikeouts in 2017. The shortstop led the Crusaders to a 19-5 record and the Round of 16 in the 4A state tournament this spring.
Nicholas Feight (UNC Wilmington): Round 19, Pick 558 (San Diego Padres)
Feight is a pure power hitter as a designated hitter or catcher and led the nation with 91 RBIs as a sophomore in 2016, when he was named CAA Player of the Year. He slowed down a bit this season, but still smacked 15 home runs on his way to a second straight first-team All-CAA selection.
Jordan Barrett (Elon): Round 18, Pick 549 (Toronto Blue Jays)
Barrett played two years at Polk State and two years at Elon and was part of the Phoenix’s starting rotation both years as a 6-foot-3 southpaw. Barrett went 4-5 with a 3.22 ERA this spring and pitched 4 2/3 innings in Elon’s combined no-hitter against the College of Charleston in the CAA tournament, though the Phoenix lost the game 1-0.
Jacob Brown (Northeast Guilford HS; McLeansville, N.C.): Round 18, Pick 548 (Baltimore Orioles)
As a two-way player for Northeast Guilford this spring, Brown could pitch or play outfield and third base. He posted a 1.09 ERA in nine games on the mound and also hit .500 with six doubles and two home runs.
Greg Jones (Cary HS; Cary, N.C.): Round 17, Pick 518 (Baltimore Orioles)
One of MLB.com’s top 100 prospects overall, Jones may have slipped to the 17th round because he is planning on playing in college at UNC Wilmington, but the Orioles now have the chance to lure him with a big signing bonus and potentially get a steal.
Jones, the first player drafted straight out of Cary High School since 1999, is one of the fastest players in the draft and got a 75 in running from MLB.com on the 20-80 scouting scale. The switch-hitting shortstop batted .459 as a junior and .429 as a senior for the Imps.
Cutter Dyals (North Carolina A&T): Round 17, Pick 500 (Atlanta Braves)
Dyals started his career at Eastern Florida State before serving as the Aggies’ bullpen ace this season, allowing just two runs and notching seven saves in 19 appearances.
Andy Cosgrove (N.C. State): Round 17, Pick 496 (Minnesota Twins)
In his first season in Raleigh after transferring from Santa Barbara City College, Cosgrove started for most of the year at catcher and batted .284. He has a strong throwing arm from behind the plate, with 35 assists and just five errors for the Wolfpack, and 16 of his 40 hits went for extra bases.
Ricky Surum (University of Mount Olive): Round 16, Pick 482 (New York Yankees)
Surum struggled in two seasons at Virginia Tech before transferring for his final two years and flourishing at Mount Olive. The shortstop led the team in batting average, stolen bases, RBIs, hits and doubles in 2017.
Justin Bullock (South Granville HS; Creedmoor, N.C.): Round 16, Pick 474 (Milwaukee Brewers)
Bullock starred on the mound for South Granville High School this spring, going 11-1 with a minuscule 0.55 ERA and pitching four complete games. The Vikings went 25-5, earning a No. 1 seed in the 2A state tournament before falling in the Final Four to John A. Holmes High School. Bullock is committed to play for N.C. State and will have to decide whether to go to school for three years to improve his draft stock or jump straight to the pros in the Brewers’ minor league system.
Josh McLain (N.C. State): Round 14, Pick 430 (Los Angeles Dodgers)
McLain played center field and hit near the top of the order for the Wolfpack all season in 2017, batting .311 and tying for the team lead in doubles with 21. The Hiddenite, N.C., native was also a .300 hitter as a sophomore and earned third-team All-ACC honors in 2016.
Josh Roberson (UNC Wilmington): Round 12, Pick 359 (Miami Marlins)
Roberson has struggled to stay healthy during his three-year career with the Seahawks, but looked good in his few appearances on the mound this season with a 1.80 ERA in 20 innings pitched.
Matt Brill (Appalachian State): Round 12, Pick 352 (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Brill returned from Tommy John surgery this year as a redshirt junior, appearing in 20 games out of the bullpen and 39 games in the outfield. He hit five home runs in just 69 at-bats and struck out 38 batters in 30 1/3 innings on the mound.
Donnie Sellers (Wake Forest): Round 11, Pick 339 (Toronto Blue Jays)
After pitching out of the bullpen his first two years, Sellers jumped into a starting role this season for Wake Forest as part of its weekend rotation. The 6-foot right-hander finished the year with a 4.71 ERA and a 3-5 record.
Evan Mendoza (N.C. State): Round 11, Pick 334 (St. Louis Cardinals)
Mendoza had an impressive sophomore year for the Wolfpack in 2016, leading the team with a .362 batting average and earning second-team All-ACC recognition, but the junior third baseman slumped this season, batting just .262. He did maintain his impressive plate discipline, striking out 28 times and drawing 28 walks.
This story was originally published June 14, 2017 at 12:41 PM with the headline "MLB Draft live updates: Cary’s Greg Jones taken in Round 17."