The University of New Mexico baseball program was represented in the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft through a few different players.
Pitcher Justin Slaten, who just finished his junior year as a Lobo, was selected by the Texas Rangers during the third round as the 86th overall pick. This is the highest draft selection for UNM since 2017 when Luis Gonzalez also went in the third round (87). The MLB team fits him well as he is a Texas native.
2019 season:
- Thirteen games (all of them as a starter)
- 82.1 innings pitched
- 98 strikeouts
- 2.51 ERA (ninth-lowest in program history)
- .215 opponent batting average against
- All-Mountain West Second Team
Approximate pick value: $699,700
The @Rangers got a good one! Congrats to New Mexico pitcher @JSlaten32 for being selected by the Texas Rangers 86th overall. #MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/gbvhnk7Lbe
— Isabel Gonzalez (@cisabelg) June 4, 2019
Darrien Miller announced he was committing to UNM on Nov. 9, 2018. He was drafted in the 9th round (283) by the Milwaukee Brewers as their first high school player of this draft. The 18-year-old catcher, who hits left-handed, comes from Clovis High School in California and was part of the roster that won the 2019 Central Section Division I title.
2019 season:
- Hit .398
- 35 hits
- 36 runs
- 19 RBI
Approximate pick value: $149,500
Darrien Miller….the swing resembles the left-handed swing of Mark Teixeira….in a draft light on catchers someone is going to pop him. Undersized but I’m buying the bat. #mlbdraft19 pic.twitter.com/Nv5vyu1tFV
— Sam Monroy (@sammonroy) May 29, 2019
Catcher Andrew Pratt graduated from La Cueva High School in Albuquerque. His last team was Lubbock Christian College but he played as a Lobo for two years before transferring in 2017. Pratt was selected by the Washington Nationals in the 1oth round.
2019 season:
- 52 games
- hit .358
- 16 doubles
- 13 homers
- 54 RBIs
- First-Team All-Heartland Conference after leading the league with a .483 on-base percentage
Approximate pick value: $144,100
Pitcher Malachi Emond, a closer, got selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 18th round (528) on the third day of the MLB Draft. New Mexico was the third school in the 6’3″ player’s college career. He climbed the ladder to Division I and became a Lobo in 2018.
2019 season:
- 26 games (38.2 innings pitched)
- 48 strikeouts
- 3.49 ERA
- 10 saves (best on the team)
T8 | Big time strikeout for Malachi Emond for the second out of the inning! #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/0AJ6XtDZMH
— UNM Baseball (@UNMLoboBaseball) May 12, 2019
Jared Mang spent four years wearing the Lobo uniform. He was selected in the 18th round (532) by the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday. The 5’9″ outfielder from Los Alamos played a total of 197 games in New Mexico, 186 of those as a starter. His brother, Connor Mang, also decided to play baseball at UNM.
2019 season:
- 52 games played
- hit .365 (76 hits)
- 57 runs
- Five home runs
- 51 RBI
- Mountain West First Team
B7 | MANG-O BLAST! Jared Mang blasts a home run to left for the Lobos' third HR of the inning to give UNM an 11-6 lead on Nevada. #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/DwKGuKOhdn
— UNM Baseball (@UNMLoboBaseball) May 20, 2017
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