By R.L. Bynum
There was good news for North Carolina on the second day of the MLB Draft with left fielder Casey Cook and right fielder Anthony Donofrio both getting drafted on Monday. However, there was also potentially bad news, with one of the Tar Heels’ high school recruits also getting selected.
The Texas Rangers took Cook, an All-ACC first-team pick who was one of UNC’s most consistent hitters last season and a solid defender in left field, in the third round as the 171st overall pick. The Seattle Mariners selected Donofrio, whose speed, slick fielding and solid hitting were a big part of UNC’s lineup, in the 10th round with the 303rd pick.
That means the Tar Heels’ entire outfield was drafted after the Baltimore Orioles drafted center fielder Vance Honeycutt with the 22nd overall pick in the first round on Sunday.
Last season, Cook hit .341 with 18 home runs, 78 RBI, 12 doubles, seven steals, a .431 on-base percentage and a .605 slugging percentage, all career-highs. He led UNC in hits (88), RBI, multi-hit games (28) and multi-RBI games (24) and was second in batting average, on-base percentage and total bases (156).
Cook is the first Tar Heel the Rangers have drafted since they selected Jeremy Cleveland (226th overall pick in the eighth round) and Sammy Hewitt (34th round) in 2003. Texas also picked Tyrell Godwin (35th overall pick in the first round) in 2000, Todd Kopczynski (37th round) in 1987, Marc Ochal (55th overall pick in the third round) in 1980, P.J. Gay (28th round) in 1980 and Mike Merritt (20th round) in 1973.
Donofrio, a graduate transfer from Quinnipiac, hit .326, the third-highest average on the team, and led the team in doubles (19), triples (6) and on-base percentage (.435). His 19 steals were second only on the team to Honeycutt’s 28.
Donofrio is the sixth UNC player that the Mariners have drafted but the first since 2009, when they took Dustin Ackley (2nd overall pick in first round), Kyle Seager (82nd overall pick in the third round) and Brian Moran (203rd overall pick in seventh round. In 2022, Seattle picked Brandon Schaeffer in the 18th round and picked Marshall Hubbard in 2004 in the eighth round.
Reliever Dalton Pence will have to wait until the draft’s final day on Tuesday — when rounds 11 through 20 will be held — and hope to hear his name when the draft resumes at 2 p.m.
Good news for East Rowan’s Cobb Hightower may mean that he doesn’t play for Carolina after committing to the Tar Heels. The San Diego Padres picked the all-state shortstop in the third round with the 88th overall pick. Hightower hit .362 with nine home runs, 10 doubles and 48 RBI, leading East Rowan to the State 3-A title.
Right-handed pitcher Camron Seagraves of Grace Christian, the Gatorade North Carolina Baseball Player of the Year who committed to UNC on July 1, hasn’t been selected.
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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