Spartan Baseball Players Selected in Baseball Draft
A total of five San Jose State University baseball players were selected during the 2001 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, held June 5-6.
| Junior Ruiz |
Junior Ruiz and Matt Kauffman were selected during the first day of the draft. Chris Sherman, John Fagan and Brandon Macchi were second-day picks. All five have signed contracts.
Ruiz was chosen in the ninth round (276th overall pick) by the Cincinnati Reds and was drafted as a second baseman. After signing a contract, he was assigned to the Reds' rookie league team in Plant City, Fla. Kauffman, a lefthanded pitcher, was selected in the 13th round (400th overall pick) by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is with the Great Falls (Mont.) team.
Sherman was selected in the 30th round (912th overall pick) by the New York Mets. He is with the Mets' Class A team in Brooklyn, N.Y. Fagan, a 33rd round pick (986th overall pick) and Macchi, a 34th round selection (1,016th overall pick) were both drafted by the Houston Astros. Fagan and Macchi are both with the Astros' Class A team based in Martinsville, Tenn.
Ruiz holds the SJSU career records for hits (237), runs scored (149) and walks (109). He set a school record in the recently completed Spartan season by reaching base 11 straight times (on eight hits, one walk and two errors). He tied a school record with four stolen bases during a game against Nevada in April. In his three years at San Jose State, Ruiz hit for a .360 career average. This season he hit .374 after back-to-back seasons with a .354 average.
In 1999 Ruiz was named the Co-Freshman of the Year in the Western Athletic Conference as a second baseman. He was also named a Louisville Slugger Honorable Mention Freshman All-American. He was the WAC Player of the Year and a first-team all-league pick in 2000, and received second-team all-conference recognition this season. He was named San Jose State's Outstanding Offensive Player all three seasons and was selected as SJSU's Most Valuable Player in 2000.
Kauffman, a native of San Francisco, played two seasons at San Jose State after transferring from the City College of San Francisco. This year he posted a 3-1 record with a team-best four saves and a 2.93 ERA. In 20 appearances and 30 2/3 innings pitched, opponents hit just .174 off him. Kauffman appeared in six games and pitched a total of 7 1/3 innings during the 2000 season.
Sherman, a righthanded pitcher from Aptos (Soquel HS), was a four-year player at San Jose State. He had a 9-6 record with a 3.10 ERA in 2001, was second on the team with four complete games and tied for the team lead with two shutouts. In 18 appearances including 16 starts he pitched 107 1/3 innings. He was a second team all-Western Athletic Conference selection and was named San Jose State's Outstanding Pitcher this season. Sherman is tied for second in the SJSU record book for career appearances, with 70.
Fagan, a first baseman from San Bernardino, played two years at San Jose State after transfering from Mission College. He is SJSU's career leader for home runs, with 25. He was a second-team all-WAC pick at first base and was named the team's Rookie of the Year (for a first-year player) in 2000.
Macchi, an outfielder, played three years at San Jose State after one season at Mission College. The Santa Clara native is the SJSU career leader for RBI (137) and doubles (53) and is third in home runs (18). Macchi was named the team's Most Improved Player in 1999 and was named to the all-tournament team at the Waco Regional last season.
Lefthanded pitcher Tim Adinolfi signed a free agent contract with Kansas City and is now with the Royals' Class A team in Spokane, Wash. The San Jose native was 16-5 in his four year career at San Jose State, winning eight games in his junior and senior seasons. In 2000 he tied the SJSU single season record with seven saves. He was named the team's Most Improved Player and was a second-team all-WAC pick his junior year.
Matt Durkin of San Jose, who signed a letter-of-intent with San Jose State during the early signing period last fall, also was drafted in the first round. Durkin, who attended Willow Glen High School in San Jose, was selected in the 10th round (308th overall pick) by the Arizona Diamondbacks. As of June 28, he had not signed a professional contract.