LOS ANGELES – UCLA’s Beau Amaral, Tyler Heineman, Scott Griggs, Trevor Brown, Eric Jaffe and Cody Keefer were selected Tuesday in the 2012 MLB Draft. Seven UCLA players have been drafted in the first two days (15 rounds), including first-round supplemental selection Jeff Gelalich on Monday night.
Amaral (Cincinnati Reds) was chosen in the seventh round (No. 232 overall), before Tyler Heineman (Houston Astros) and Scott Griggs (Los Angeles Dodgers) were selected in the eighth round as the No. 249 and No. 266 selections, respectively.
Brown (San Francisco Giants) was taken in the 10th round, Eric Jaffe (Chicago White Sox) in the 11th round and Cody Keefer (Miami Marlins) in the 15th round.
This marks the second time in the 48-year history of the MLB Draft in which at least seven UCLA players have been selected in the first 15 rounds. UCLA had seven draft selections within the first 12 rounds in 1991.
“We are thrilled to see seven of our players selected in the first 15 rounds,” head coach John Savage said. “This is both a reflection of their very hard work and our team’s success. It’s an exciting time in their lives, knowing that they have a chance to begin a pro baseball career. We couldn’t be any more proud of their accomplishments.”
Amaral, the Bruins’ starting center fielder for the last three seasons, has batted .320 with four home runs, five triples, nine doubles and a team-leading 61 runs in 2012. Amaral and teammate Jeff Gelalich have both been selected by the Cincinnati Reds in this season’s draft.
Heineman, who served as a backup catcher for two years before assuming the starting role in 2012, has batted .351 with seven doubles, 26 RBI and 40 runs in 54 starts this season. The native of Pacific Palisades, Calif., has thrown out 20 of 44 attempted base stealers from behind the plate.
Griggs, UCLA’s closer, has established the school’s single-season saves record (15) during his junior season. The resident of Alamo, Calif., has gone 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 35 relief appearances. Griggs has logged 64 strikeouts and 31 walks in 36.2 innings, limiting the opposition to a .172 batting average.
Brown, who can play catcher and all four infield positions, has batted .322 with a team-leading 50 RBI in all 59 games. Hailing from Valencia, Calif., he has logged three home runs and a team-best 13 doubles. Brown has made 38 starts at first base, 12 at catcher, seven at second base and two at third base this year.
Jaffe, a right-hander from Oakland, Calif., has gone 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in eight relief appearances, logging three strikeouts and 10 walks in 7.2 innings. Jaffe is a redshirt freshman eligible for this season’s draft because he turns 21 years old within 30 days following the draft.
Keefer, the Bruins’ starting left fielder the last three years, has batted .342 with 12 doubles, 35 RBI and 41 runs in 58 games as a junior. He has batted over the .300 plateau all three years for UCLA and enters the team’s upcoming NCAA Super Regional with a .322 career batting average.
Gelalich was chosen No. 57 overall on Monday evening as a first round supplemental selection by Cincinnati.
In his eighth season as UCLA’s head coach, Savage has produced 58 MLB Draft selections, including 20 players being drafted within the first 10 rounds.
The 2012 MLB Draft concludes with rounds 16-40 on Wednesday, starting at 9 a.m. (PT).
