Blair and Spezial Taken on Day 3 of MLB Draft
6/8/2013 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 8, 2013
By Steven Wright, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeBaseball)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Graduated seniors Pat Blair and Niko Spezial were both selected on Day 3 of the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft on Saturday. Signee Will Craig was taken on the draft's final day, as well.
Blair was drafted in the 12th Round with the 368th pick by the Tampa Bay Rays, while Spezial was taken in the 19th Round with the 586th pick by the Washington Nationals. Craig, who just finished his career at Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tenn., went in the 37th Round with the 1,104th pick to the Kansas City Royals.
For Blair and Spezial, Saturday marked the second time that each player was drafted. The Houston Astros drafted Blair in the 24th Round of last year's draft, and the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Spezial out of high school in the 32nd round of the 2009 draft.
Blair (Baltimore, Md.) firmly cemented his name in the Wake Forest record books, as he was the Demon Deacons' starting shortstop all four years in Winston-Salem. Blair played in 219 of the possible 223 games in his four years and made 213 starts. He is Wake Forest's all-time leader in walks with 180, and he is third with 68 stolen bases, fourth with 59 doubles and eighth with 181 runs scored. After hitting .283 as a senior, he finished his career with 226 hits and is just one of 24 Demon Deacons all-time to eclipse the 200-hit mark.
Spezial turned in his best season as a Demon Deacon as a senior this year. He finished the year with a career-low 2.83 ERA and won a career-high number of decisions with a 6-1 record. He made 23 appearances and pitched 28.2 innings. In his four seasons at Wake Forest, Spezial appeared in 80 games, 78 of which came in relief, and posted a 4.46 ERA in 101.0 innings of action.
At draft's end, the Demon Deacons had two players from the 2013 roster drafted and three signees. Alex Murphy (6th Round, Orioles) and Dylan Manwaring (9th Round, Braves) were both taken on Day 2 of the draft. This marks the 34th straight year that Wake Forest has had either a current player or an incoming signee selected in the MLB Draft.
The three signees who were selected will have until July 12 at 5 p.m. ET to either sign with their franchise or decide to attend Wake Forest.
