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Five Baseball Players Taken In Day 2 Of Major League Draft
June 8, 2007 NEW ORLEANS, La. - Five Tulane University baseball standouts - junior infielder Brad Emaus, sophomore outfielder Warren McFadden, junior shortstop Cat Everett and senior pitchers Brandon Gomes and Daniel Latham - were selected in day two of the 2007 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. Emaus was the first player off the board on Friday, going in the 11th round (355th overall) to the Toronto Blue Jays while Latham went four rounds later (482nd overall) to the Minnesota Twins. Gomes was drafted in the 17th round (537th overall) by the San Diego Padres, McFadden went in the 28th round (871st overall) to the Detroit Tigers, and Everett came off the board in the 44th round (1,312th overall) by the Houston Astros. Emaus Career Bio in PDF Format The quintet join day-one pick Sean Morgan - who was taken in the fourth round by the Arizona Diamondbacks - to set a Tulane record for players drafted in a single year. The previous high of four was reached six times since the inception of the modern draft in 1965 and last reached in 2005. The three pitchers (Gomes, Latham, Morgan) also marked a first for the Green Wave as the most hurlers drafted in the past was two. "We had a lot of upperclassmen, especially in our pitching staff, we had two former Conference USA Freshmen of the Year and a stellar defensive player at shortstop," Tulane head coach Rick Jones said. "In terms of wins and losses, this year was sort of an aberration in my opinion, and the draft is based on what these guys have done over the course of their careers, not just in 2007. If you look at that, they are all very impressive." While Gomes and Latham's college eligibility expired at the end of the 2007 season, Emaus, Everett, McFadden and Morgan all have the option of returning next season if they choose not sign a professional contract. Emaus (Senioa, Ga./East Coweta HS) went to the Blue Jays after starting every game during his three years at Tulane. In 192 career games, he hit .313 (226-for-723) with a .476 slugging percentage on the strength of 42 doubles, two triples and 24 home runs while driving in 136 runs. He is tied for seventh in Tulane career history in sacrifice flies (13), ninth in assists (406) and 10th in walks (123).
As a junior, Emaus led the Green Wave in batting average (.329), runs scored (43) and walks (41) while ranking second on the club in home runs (tied with five), triples (two), RBI (35), total bases (97) and slugging percentage (.443). He had 21 multiple-hit games and nine multiple-RBI contests, and had a pair of five-game hitting streaks during the season. Emaus is the fifth Tulane player selected by Toronto, joining Joey Purcell (first-round January Secondary Phase in 1981), Mike Romano (third round, 1993), Brian Bormaster (26th round, 2004) and Cory Hahn (30th round, 2004). Latham (Covington, La./Covington HS) joins the Twins organization after a stellar four-year career as Tulane's closer. He set the Tulane and C-USA career saves record during his junior season in 2006 and finished his collegiate career No. 6 among all NCAA Division I pitchers with 43 career saves. In addition to breaking the school's saves mark, he also ranks second in Tulane history with 122 appearances. As a senior, Latham pitched in a team-best 29 games out of the bullpen and led the team with 10 saves. He was second among bullpen arms in strikeouts (37), opponent batting average (.273) and innings pitched (44.2), and third in reliever ERA (4.23). Latham is the seventh Green Wave student-athlete picked by the Twins, joining Mark Maher (seventh round, 1978), David Stokes (seventh round, 1979 - did not sign), Barry Butera (fourth round January Secondary Phase, 1980), Steve Riley (25th round, 1984), David Smith (fifth round, 1987) and Henry Bonilla (eighth round, 2000).
In 2007, Gomes posted career-bests with a 3.92 ERA and a .273 opponent batting average, while tallying a team-leading 4.11 strikeout-to-walk ratio with 74 Ks and just 18 walks in 96.1 innings. He had five or more strikeouts five times, including a 10-punchout day against Southern Miss in the C-USA Tournament on May 25 and a career-best 12 fans in a five-hit, complete-game shutout at Marshall on March 25. Gomes is just the third Tulane player ever selected by the Padres, joining Steve Mura (second round, 1976) and Jake Gautreau (first round, 2001).
In 2006, McFadden claimed C-USA and LSWA Freshman of the Year honors and claimed Freshman All-America distinction from Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and Rivals.com after leading the team in hitting (.382), hits (91) and doubles (24). As a third-year sophomore in 2007, McFadden was hampered by an ankle injury midway through the year but finished the season hiting .296 (60-for-203) with a team-leading 14 doubles and a career-high four home runs while driving in 34. McFadden is the fourth Tulane player selected by Detroit, joining Ron Marigny (eighth round, 1984), Tookie Spann (third round, 1988) and Tony Giarratano (third round, 2003). Tulane's final selection on Friday was Everett (Houston, Texas/Lamar HS), who was drafted by the Astros after starting the last two seasons at shortstop for the Wave. He was used primarily as a defensive replacement as a rookie in 2005, but since becoming a starter, has committed just 18 errors, which stands as the lowest mark in a two-year span by any shortstop in Tulane history. His 384 career assists ranks 10th in the Green Wave record book.
Everett is the fourth Tulane player drafted by the Astros, joining Mickey McKee (32nd round, 2000), Brian Bogusevic (first round, 2005) and Tommy Manzella (third round, 2005). He is also the fifth consecutive Green Wave starting shortstop to be drafted, joining McKee, Andy Cannizaro (seventh round, New York Yankees, 2001), Giarratano and Manzella. In addition to the five Green Wave picks on Friday, two of Tulane's signees and a pair of former Green Wave players were taken in day two as well. Signees Mike Lehman (RHP/Pearl River Central HS/Pearl River, Miss.) and Robby Broach (RHP/Archbishop Rummel HS/Metairie, La.) were taken by the Kansas City Royals in the 20th round (606th overall) and Pittsburg Pirates in the 47th round (1,372nd overall), respectively. "We're certainly hopeful that Robby will be on campus because we feel that he is the best pitcher in the state and one of the top pitchers in the country," Jones said. "We feel that in three year, his draft status could be elevated to a very high round." Former Tulane right-handed pitcher Stephen Porlier, who spent the 2007 season at Oklahoma, went to the Oakland Athletics in the 21st round (660th overall) while former second baseman Philip Stringer, who played the last three years at Auburn, was taken in the 24th round (741st overall) by the Houston Astros. Like the Green Wave's non-seniors, Broach and Lehman have the option of enrolling at Tulane in the fall if they choose not to sign professional contracts.
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