CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Reds Senior Director of Amateur Scouting Chris Buckley tonight announced the selection of junior right-handed pitcher Nick Howard from the University of Virginia with the team's first pick (19th overall) of the 2014 first-year player draft.
Howard, 21, earlier this spring was named to the 2014 Louisville Slugger All-America third team as a relief pitcher in his first season as a closer. His 19 saves are a single-season school record and tie the ACC single-season mark established by North Carolina's Michael Morin in 2012.
So far this season Howard is 2-1 with a 2.15 ERA in 27 relief appearances (29.1ip, 19h, 12bb, 50k). On Saturday, Virginia meets Maryland in the NCAA's Charlottesville Super Regional.
He was named to the All-ACC first team as a utility player after hitting .261 with 20 RBI in 43 games. In his 3-year collegiate career, Howard has hit .303 in 119 games.
The Reds also selected junior infielder Alex Blandino (6-0, 190) from Stanford University with the team's second first round pick (29th overall as first-round compensation for the signing of free agent Shin-Soo Choo by the Texas Rangers) and junior infielder Taylor Sparks (6-4, 210) from the University of California-Irvine in the second round (59th overall).
Blandino, 21, this season for the Cardinal is hitting .312 with 13 doubles, 12 home runs and 42 RBI in 58 starts. He is on the 2014 Gold Spikes Award watch list and was named a pre-season All-America selection by Perfect Game, Baseball America and Louisville Slugger.
Sparks, 21, this season for Cal-Irvine is hitting .297 with 14 doubles, 8 triples, 5 home runs, 34 RBI and 7 stolen bases and has been named to the 2014 Capital One Academic All-America third team. He leads the team in doubles and is ranked among the NCAA leaders in triples.
A three-time Big West scholar-athlete majoring in sociology, Sparks was voted academic all-district earlier this month and was was UCI's 2014 Big West Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He also earned Big West Player of the Week honors.
**Cincinnati Reds press release
