Vilar gets drafted as a catcher. Toral doesn’t at all. What it might mean for Miami
The San Diego Padres have an interesting plan in mind for Anthony Vilar and now the Miami Hurricane will have a decision to make.
Alex Toral will have a tough decision to make, too, after going unselected in the 2021 MLB draft.
Miami finished with three players drafted this week — catcher Adrian Del Castillo went to the Arizona Diamondbacks in Competitive Balance Round B, pitcher Jake Smith went to the Los Angeles Angels in Round 6 and Vilar went to the Padres as a catcher in Round 15 — but Toral’s snub means at least one player who expected to get drafted did not.
Coach Gino DiMare said Friday he expected Toral to turn professional after wrapping up his fourth season with the Hurricanes, but now there’s no guarantee the first baseman will be able to find a Major League home.
The same is true for pitcher Daniel Federman, who DiMare also expected to sign with a pro team, but went undrafted through 20 rounds this week.
Toral, whose 24 home runs in 2019 were tied for the second most in a single season in Miami history, had the worst statistical season of his career this year, but has one season of eligibility remaining after the COVID-19 pandemic led the NCAA to grant all players an extra season. Federman, who began 2021 as the Hurricanes’ ace, also posted a career-worst 4.08 ERA in 2021 and also has one season of eligibility remaining because of the NCAA’s COVID policy.
Relief pitcher JP Gates also went undrafted, as expected. DiMare expects him back in a two-way role for Miami next season.
While Toral and Federman have one sort of difficult decision to make, Vilar has a different one. The Miami Westminster Christian alumnus was a fixture for the Hurricanes the last three years, starting all 131 games at either second base, third base or shortstop. He was a solid, unspectacular hitter and a borderline draft prospect this year, yet San Diego honed in on him as a potential catcher and took him with the No. 460 overall pick Tuesday.
Vilar has two seasons of eligibility remaining after posting a career-worst .275 batting average and .391 slugging percentage last season. He was not ranked among Baseball America’s top 500 prospects entering the draft.
This story was originally published July 13, 2021 at 1:54 PM.
