Many Miami Hurricanes returning to UM, despite draft. Is ‘Mark Light Magic’ on deck?
Within minutes of the Major League Baseball Draft being over Thursday night, University of Miami coach Gino DiMare had learned that Hurricanes’ 2019 Atlantic Coast Conference home run king Alex Toral, who likely just missed being selected because the draft was cut from 40 rounds to five, was already making phone calls to incoming UM freshmen to get them pumped for next season.
“Alex was reaching out to some of the incoming recruits and letting them know to be ready to get to work and talking about Omaha and national championships and that we’ve got a team that’s going to be special,’’ DiMare told the Miami Herald by phone on Friday. “I’m sure there’s a part of him that’s disappointed, but what a great kid.
“I feel great about the future of this program. There’s nothing like having real leadership.’’
Toral, who hit .293 and whose 24 home runs — third best in the nation — in college baseball’s last full season (.296 and 5 home runs in the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 16-game season in 2020), will be back in 2021 along with an elite cast of Hurricanes that includes a signing class rated as high as No. 2 nationally.
UM was ranked as high as No. 5 and was 12-4 overall when the 2020 season ended in March.
“We’ve got a great incoming class right now,’’ DiMare said. “But the proof will be in three years or whenever their draft come up. How do they develop as players? That will be a big part of where we go from here.’’
Draft fallout
The future of Hurricanes baseball began after the draft, when Toral and at least four nationally heralded high school seniors who normally would have been selected went undrafted because teams needed to ensure the players they picked had a more expansive body of work to evaluate. Because of that, some of the nation’s finest high school talent will be heading to college.
For UM, that includes Westminster Christian right-handed pitcher Victor Mederos, Miami Christian right-handed pitcher Alejandro Rosario, Braddock shortstop Yohandy — “Yo-Yo”—Morales and Florida Christian catcher Carlos Perez.
“Morales has a chance to be a top-10 pick when he leaves Miami,’’ DiMare said. “He’s that talented. And even though we know we have catcher Adrian Del Castillo back as our best hitter, we feel Carlos Perez could be one of the better catchers to ever come out of Miami. He’s extremely advanced defensively.’’
The Canes had three players selected in the latest draft: right-handed pitcher Slade Cecconi, 33rd overall in the first round by the Arizona Diamondbacks; right-handed pitcher Chris McMahon, 46th overall by the Colorado Rockies in the second round; and shortstop Freddy Zamora, 53rd overall by the Milwaukee Brewers in the second round.
2021 UM signee Sammy Infante, a Monsignor Pace prep shortstop, was taken 71st overall by the Washington Nationals in the third round.
To sign or not to sign
This year, undrafted players have the option of signing a contract with an MLB organization as a free agent for up to $20,000, not exactly the best choice for talented players at a program like four-time national champion UM, where if they stay for at least another season they have a chance to develop and be drafted for a lot more money in the future.
The deadline to sign an MLB contract is Aug. 1.
DiMare told the Herald that every junior on his squad committed to returning next season. Starting pitcher Brian Van Belle, however, signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Boston Red Sox on Monday after his redshirt senior season was cut short. Van Belle, who was a sixth-year senior and already earned his undergraduate degree, went 2-0 with a team-leading 0.68 ERA as the Hurricanes’ ace in 2020. The NCAA ruled in March to give all spring athletes an extra year of eligibility because the coronavirus outbreak meant none got to play for a national championship, but Van Belle, 23, opted to turn professional rather than return for a seventh year in college.
In addition to Van Belle, pitchers Tyler Keysor (0-0, 5.87 ERA in eight appearances) and outfielder Chad Crosbie were seniors. DiMare was still awaiting word from Keysor as of Friday. Crosbie, who graduated, chose to return home to California to possibly play his final season for a school closer to home.
The two draft-eligible sophomores were outfielder Jordan Lala and infielder Anthony Vilar.
Rosters will grow
Last week’s drastically shortened draft combined with the added year of eligibility afforded by the NCAA, means that the huge surplus of players who otherwise would have signed MLB contracts will now be heading back to college. Because of that, the NCAA announced last week that just for 2021 it would eliminate the roster-size limitation of 35. It also announced that the players on scholarships (the NCAA allows the equivalent of 11.7 total scholarships to be split among several players) could increase from 27 to 32 and that schools, if they wished, could renegotiate scholarship agreements to provide less than the usual 25 percent minimum scholarship aid per player.
DiMare said he liked the idea of unlimited roster sizes just for next season because “a lot of schools are going to have more than 35.’’
“The draft proved it,’’ he said. “We have a number of juniors who in most years, with the usual drafts, probably would have been gone — even the draft-eligible sophomores. The unlimited waiver is great for everybody and gives flexibility and takes pressure off of, ‘Oh my gosh. I have to get to 35.’’’
But while some coaches might say, “The more the merrier,’’ DiMare pointed out, he is not a fan of huge rosters. “I don’t want to have too many guys where it’s just too much in terms of being able to handle developing players and giving guys opportunities to play. I want a balance. Too many players on the team is cause for too many things. You can’t practice with too many hitters, too many pitchers.
“Some coaches might have 45 guys. We don’t even have that many lockers.’’
‘Still surreal’
For now, DiMare is just looking forward to the next time he sees his players together. The pandemic changed everything.
“I mean it’s still surreal,’’ the coach said. “The last time I saw my players live, up close and face-to-face was back in March. There’s still that unknown of not knowing how the next day is going to unfold. There will be adjustments in all sports, not just baseball — just like in life.
“I’m hoping certainly by the time we start our season, which is in the spring [semester], we’ll be through with a lot of this and it’ll be back to fans in the stands and the normal Mark Light Magic.’’
This story was originally published June 15, 2020 at 7:44 AM.
