MLB Draft: Arizona catcher/utility man Matthew Dyer picked by New York Mets

The momentum of the first day of the 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued for Arizona on Thursday as the Wildcats had another player selected to continue his career in the professional ranks. Interestingly enough, New York will soon be Wildcat Country as yet another UA catcher will be headed to play for a team in the Big Apple as junior Matthew Dyer was selected by the New York Mets in the fourth round of the draft Thursday evening.

Dyer, who began his career at Oregon, put together a strong two seasons on the field for the Wildcats after sitting out one season per the NCAA's transfer rules. The Glendale, Arizona native contributed behind the plate and at several different positions in the field during his time with the Wildcats, but it was in the batter's box that he made his mark.

The 6-foot-4 catcher and utility man hit .393 in the 2019 season and finished his career with the Wildcats with a .348 batting average to go with 58 runs scored, 14 doubles, four triples, seven home runs and 46 RBIs.

"Matthew is an intense game competitor and one of the most underrated players in the country," Arizona head coach Jay Johnson said in a statement provided by the program. "He is as versatile of a player as any team could hope for. The Mets organization will be better for drafting Matthew."

Dyer is the 11th Arizona player to be selected by the Mets in franchise history. His selection at No. 120 overall means the Wildcats will have multiple players selected in the same draft for the 10th year in a row as Dyer joins fellow catcher, Austin Wells, who was picked by the New York Yankees in the first round of the draft on Wednesday.

The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association named Dyer a preseason All-American this year as the big junior proved to be one of the most consistent parts of UA's team in the 2019 season.

He is the 28th UA player to be selected in the MLB Draft since Johnson took over as the program's head coach.

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