On Sunday, as expected, Arizona had its star slugger Chase Davis hear his named called in the first round of the MLB Draft. A day later, the Wildcats saw four more of their former players drafted into the show.
Below are the five Wildcats that are now a part of MLB clubs:
OF Chase Davis: St Louis Cardinals (1st round / 21st overall)
The D1 Baseball Second Team All-American Chase Davis is coming off one of the best UA seasons in school history, hitting .362, piling in 80 hits and tying a Pac-12 conference-high 21 home runs with teammate and newest New York Yankee Kiko Romero. Davis already brings an MLB caliber swing to St. Louis and has proven that he is capable of staying consistent against the toughest competition, averaging two hits and one run home run per contest in the Pac-12 Championship, where he was named the tournament’s MVP despite the UA falling short in the championship game.
RHP TJ Nichols: Tampa Bay Rays (6th round / 183rd overall)
The former Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week that only allowed one run and threw six strikeouts against then-No. 2 ranked Tennessee was taken in the sixth round by the Tampa Bay Rays. TJ Nichols was a streaky ace for the Wildcats, but when he was pitching welll, he was hard to stop. The Arizona righty had five games where he pitched a 6+ strikeout game. Although he had a losing record on the mound, the California native brings a lot of raw potential with a versatile arm to the next level.
1B Kiko Romero: New York Yankees (7th round / 222nd overall)
Breaking the school record for RBIs in a season, first baseman and last season ABCA Second Team All American Kiko Romero will leave an historic legacy as he gets set to enter a storied franchise with the New York Yankees after getting drafted in the seventh round. Romero, a Central Arizona College transfer, played only one season for the Wildcats, but made the most out of it. The Tucson native averaged a .345 batting average, .724 slugging percentage, hit a team-high and school record 89 RBIs, along with 80 hits.
RHP Chris Barraza: Los Angeles Angels (10th round / 294th overall)
Joining an organization with a pitching staff that features MLB MVP hopeful Shohei Ohtani will be right-handed reliever Chris Barraza. Barraza, a Tucson native who played two seasons at the UA performed well in last season, posting five wins in seven appearances, and helped close out key games in the Pac-12 Tournament, including the run-rule victory against No. 1 seed Stanford as well as the win against No. 2 seed Oregon State.
SS Nik McClaughry: San Diego Padres (10th round / 311th overall)
The heart and soul of the Wildcats last season was senior Nik McClaughry. McClaughry, the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year played the last three and started the last two seasons in Tucson and will now make a trek about 400 miles west to San Diego to begin his new journey in the pros. The Rocklin, California native was not expected to be drafted, but as many Wildcats fans know, McClaughry has the passion and work ethic to make the most out of his opportunities after finishing an illustrious career after not seeing the starting rotation of his freshman campaign. The Wildcats’ leader and shortstop last season posted his best season of his college career, averaging a .325 batting average, driving in 78 hits and 39 RBIs, along with his tremendous .980 fielding percentage on the other end of the diamond.
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