MIAMI, June. 13, 2016- Six Miami Dade College Baseball players were drafted this past weekend during the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft which occurred June 9-11. The six players selected were: Santiago Espinal, Armando "Mandy" Alvarez, Kevin Santiago, Colyn O' Connell, Nelson Mompierre, and Jose Gomez. Santiago Espinal was the first MDC Shark to be drafted this weekend; the Boston Red Sox selected Espinal on Friday, June 10th, in the tenth round with the 298th-pick. Alvarez, Santiago, O' Connell, Mompierre, and Gomez each had to wait to hear their names called on the last day of the draft. The New York Yankees selected Mandy Alvarez in the seventeenth round with the 518th -pick. During the twentieth round, with the 600th-pick the Tampa Bay Rays selected Kevin Santiago. Six rounds later, the Detroit Tigers selected Colyn o' Connell with the 775th-pick. In the thirty-eighth round the Arizona Diamondbacks selected Nelson Mompierre with the 1139th pick. Finally, during the thirty-ninth round with the 1161st-pick the Milwaukee Brewers selected Jose Gomez.
During his single year at Miami Dade College, Santiago Espinal was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year. He finished his sophomore season with 28 RBIs, 38 Runs, 15 SBs, and a batting average of .432. In addition, to receiving the SoCon P.O.Y Award Espinal received several other awards such as: All-Southern Conference First Team, and FCSAA All-State First Team.
Armando "Mandy" Alvarez played for MDC during the Sharks' 2013-14 season. As a Shark, Alvarez finished his sophomore season with 1 HR, 26 RBIs, 26 Runs, 6 SBs, and a batting average of .373. While playing for MDC Alvarez received honors such as: FCSAA Florida State Tournament M.V.P, FCSAA All-Tournament Team, FCSAA State Champions, All-Southern Conference Second Team, and Southern Conference Champions.
Freshman Kevin Santiago was the youngest collegiate baseball player in the nation this past season. Santiago finished his first year at MDC with 2 HRs, 34 RBIs, 22 Runs, and a batting average of .303. Based on his performance Santiago received All-Southern Conference Second Team Honors.
Colyn O' Connell, another one year wonder for MDC went 5-1 on the mound with 62.2 innings pitched. During his lone season at Miami-Dade he struck out 49 batters, and walked 24. This will be O' Connell's second time getting drafted; coming out of high school in 2012, the Cleveland Indians drafted him in the nineteenth round.
After, transferring from Florida International University his freshman year, and dealing with minor injuries Nelson Mompierre finished his career at MDC strong. As a sophomore, Mompierre finished this past season with 3 HRs, 31 RBIs, 22 Runs, 3 SBs and a batting average of .355. As a result of getting the job done on and off the field; Mompierre received All-Southern Conference First Team Honors, and Southern Conference All-Academic Team Honors (3.10). Mompierre, signed his national letter of intent to continue his collegiate career at the University of Missouri.
Standing at 5-foot-3, Jose Gomez did not let his physical appearance stop him from playing big. Gomez, had a batting average of .397 (2012-13) and .333 (2013-14); he had a total of 5 HRs, 60 RBIs, 77 Runs, and 40 SBs by the end of his career at MDC. While a Shark, Gomez received All-Southern Conference First Team Honors his freshman year, and All-Southern Conference Second Team Honors his sophomore year. Gomez earned a scholarship to play for the St. Thomas University Bobcats.
MDC Baseball has a history of sending players to the MLB; with these six new addition, Miami Dade College has over 70 players who have either been drafted or signed by a MLB team.