June 10, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -
North Carolina juniors Mark Fleury, Adam Warren and Brian Moran were selected Wednesday in the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, bringing the total number Tar Heels picked to six over the first two days of the three-day event. Fleury went to the Cincinnati Reds in the fourth round (119th overall), Warren was chosen in the fourth round by the New York Yankees (135th overall) and Moran was the third Tar Heel grabbed by the Seattle Mariners in the seventh round (203rd overall).
Coupled with Tuesday selections Dustin Ackley (first round, second overall), Alex White (first round, 15th overall), Kyle Seager (third round, 82nd overall), Fleury and Warren give the Tar Heels five players selected in the first four rounds of the draft for the first time in program history. The first five UNC draftees were taken in the first 135 picks of the draft.
Fleury has enjoyed a breakout season as Carolina's everyday catcher this season, batting .315 with career-bests of 12 home runs, 19 doubles and 59 RBI. A semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award for the nation's top collegiate backstop, he is second on the team with 34 extra-base hits and has posted 16 multi-RBI games this year. Fleury is a career .299 hitter in 134 games.
Warren, who is second in Carolina history with 31 victories and a .886 winning percentage, has been the Tar Heels' No. 2 starter for each of the past two seasons. He is 9-2 with a 3.23 ERA and 97 strikeouts over a career-high 92 innings this season and ranks among the ACC's top 10 in ERA, strikeouts, wins and opponent average (.239). Over his career, Warren is 31-4 with 234 strikeouts and a 3.40 ERA in 270 innings.
Moran, who joins Ackley and Seager as fellow Seattle draftees, has been one of the country's top relievers this season, ranking third nationally in ERA at 1.95 and opponent batting average at .184. He leads the ACC in both categories, as well as with his 34 appearances. Moran, who is 7-1 with four saves, owns an 88-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 64 2/3 innings. Over his career, Moran owns a 2.37 ERA and an 8-3 record in 121 2/3 frames.
Three Carolina signees were also selected Wednesday, as Matt Graham went in the sixth round to San Francisco, Bryan Mitchell went in the 16th round to the New York Yankees and Brian Goodwin was taken in the 17th round by the Chicago White Sox.
The final 20 rounds of the draft begin at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.
