Calvary Christian leads South Florida with 4 players picked on first 2 days of MLB Draft
Andrew Painter’s selection in the first round of the 2021 MLB Draft was only the start for Calvary Christian Academy.
Three other Calvary Christian alumni got picked on the second day of the draft Monday, including two of the pitcher’s teammates from last season with the Eagles.
After the Philadelphia Phillies took Painter with the No. 13 overall pick in the draft, shortstop Alex Ulloa headed to the Houston Astros in the fourth round, and pitcher Irv Carter went to the Toronto Blue Jays in the fifth. Christian Scott, a relief pitcher for the Florida Gators and another Calvary Christian alumnus, also went to the New York Mets in the fifth round Monday.
Painter, Ulloa and Carter are all poised to sign with their new teams, rather than attend college. Painter is committed to the Florida Gators, Ulloa is committed to the Oklahoma State Cowboys and Carter is committed to the Miami Hurricanes.
One other former Eagle is also in good position to be drafted Tuesday, when MLB will conduct the final 10 rounds of the 20-round draft. Catcher Rene Lastres was also a top-200 pre-draft prospect, according to MLB.com, and is now considered the third best player available at his position.
Day 3 of the draft begins Tuesday at noon.
Diamondbacks load up on Floridians
In total, nine South Florida natives were picked on the first two days of the draft, including eight Monday, when MLB conducted Rounds 2-10.
Miami catcher Adrian Del Castillo, a Gulliver Prep alumnus, was the first local player picked Sunday, going in Competitive Balance Round B to the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was one of two college catchers originally from the Miami metropolitan area to be picked Monday, as Caleb Roberts of the North Carolina Tar Heels, a St. Thomas Aquinas alumnus, also went to the Diamondbacks in the fifth round.
Arizona wound up with three players from the Miami metro area Monday. The Diamondbacks also selected Gavin Conticello in the eighth round, which will leave the Stoneman Douglas third baseman with a decision to make between heading to Arizona or following through with his commitment to the USF Bulls.
Miami prospects capitalize on JUCO
Two pitchers from the Miami area took advantage of a year a junior college to get drafted a year after not being selected in the 2020 draft.
Carlos Rodriguez from Miami Christian and Alex Ayala Jr. from Brito both spent last season at Florida SouthWestern State College after going undrafted in 2020, and rode their freshman successes into the second day of the 2021 draft.
Rodriguez went to the Milwaukee Brewers in the sixth round and Ayala went to the Tampa Bay Rays in the ninth.
South Florida draft recap
Round 1, Pick 13: RHP Andrew Painter, Calvary Christian Academy, Phillies
Painter was the first and only South Floridian picked in the first round Sunday after he won the Gatorade Player of the Year award for Florida and posted a 0.38 ERA as a senior for Calvary Christian. The 6-7 pitcher is committed to the Florida Gators, but unlikely to actually wind up in Gainesville after going in the top 15.
Competitive Balance Round B, Pick 4: C Adrian Del Castillo, Miami (Gulliver Prep), Diamondbacks
Del Castillo began the year as the No. 4 prospect in the draft, but slipped to No. 42 in the pre-draft rankings after an underwhelming third season with the Miami Hurricanes in 2021. His tumble lasted even longer in the actual draft with the Arizona Diamondbacks landing the catcher with the No. 67 overall pick in the draft. Del Castillo was the first Miami-Dade County native picked in the 2021 draft.
Round 4, Pick 6: SS Alex Ulloa, Calvary Christian Academy, Astros
Ulloa is the second of potentially five former Eagles to be picked on the first two days of the draft. The Houston Astros took the shortstop with the No. 117 overall pick. The infielder, who’s committed to the Oklahoma State Cowboys, was a first-team Broward All-County selection by the Miami Herald this year after he batted .483 with six home runs in 21 games.
Round 5, Pick 6: C Caleb Roberts, North Carolina (St. Thomas Aquinas), Diamondbacks
Roberts batted .270 with a .918 on-base-plus slugging percentage for the North Carolina Tar Heels this year and is now headed to the Diamondbacks with the No. 138 overall pick. While Roberts primarily played the outfield with North Carolina, MLB announced him at the draft as a catcher, which is the position he primarily played in high school for St. Thomas Aquinas.
Round 5, Pick 10: RHP Christian Scott, Florida (Calvary Christian Academy), Mets
Calvary Christian continues to dominate the first two days of the draft for South Florida. Scott, who wrapped up his career with the Eagles in 2018, is headed to the Mets with the No. 142 overall pick after playing three years for the Gators. Scott was primarily a relief pitcher throughout his career at Florida, posting a 3.00 ERA with 51 strikeouts in 54 innings this year.
Round 5, Pick 20: RHP Irv Carter, Calvary Christian Academy, Blue Jays
Four former Eagles are off the board in the first five rounds after the Toronto Blue Jays picked Carter with the No. 152 overall pick. The pitcher slid a little bit before landing with the Blue Jays in the fifth round. Carter, who’s committed to the hometown Hurricanes, was a first-team all-county selection after putting up a 1.87 ERA in 10 appearances this year.
Round 6, Pick 15: RHP Carlos Rodriguez, JUCO Florida SouthWestern State College (Miami Christian), Brewers
After going undrafted in the shortened 2020 draft, Rodriguez lands in the sixth round of the 2021 draft, No. 177 overall to the Milwaukee Brewers. After posting a 0.67 ERA in his shortened senior season, Rodriguez headed to junior college so he could reenter the draft in 2021 and logged a 2.11 ERA in 47 innings for Florida SouthWestern State to get picked on the second day of the draft.
Round 8, Pick 6: 3B Gavin Conticello, Stoneman Douglas, Diamondbacks
Conticello was the veteran leader for a Stoneman Douglas team loaded with underclassmen, helping the Eagles win a state title and finish in the top five of MaxPreps’ national rankings. The third baseman, who is committed to the USF Bulls, was a second-team All-County selection by the Herald after batting .351 with eight doubles and two home runs, and is now the No. 228 pick in the draft.
Round 9, Pick 29: LHP Alex Ayala Jr., JUCO Florida SouthWestern State College (Brito), Rays
Like Rodriguez, Ayala went undrafted in the shortened 2020 draft, so he headed to Fort Myers for a year at a JUCO and is now a second-day selection by the Tampa Bay Rays. Ayala didn’t give up a run in his abbreviated senior season at Brito in 2020, then posted a 3.53 ERA as a freshman for the Buccaneers to get drafted No. 281 overall.
This story was originally published July 12, 2021 at 11:45 AM.
