Matthew Dyer firmly believed he would be selected in the 2020 MLB draft. He was right.
The Arizona Wildcats super-utility player came off the board in the fourth round of the five-round draft Thursday evening. The New York Mets selected him with the 120th pick.
Dyer was announced as a catcher, one of several positions he played in one-plus seasons with the Wildcats. Dyer played every other defensive spot besides shortstop and center field.
Dyer produced big offensive numbers at Arizona after transferring from Oregon in 2018. He batted .393 in 2019 with 18 extra-base hits in 168 at-bats. He hit only .220 in 59 at-bats during the truncated ’20 season but notched team highs in home runs (three) and RBIs (18) and finished the year with a six-game hitting streak.
Dyer became the second Wildcat to be selected, joining catcher Austin Wells, who went in the first round to New York’s other team, the Yankees.
"I'm really proud of Austin and Matt," UA coach Jay Johnson said by phone Thursday night. "I'm incredibly happy for both of them. They earned their opportunities. They're both in good situations to use their talent and be successful."
Baseball America ranked Dyer as the No. 333 prospect in this year’s draft, which was shortened from 40 rounds to five as a cost-cutting measure by MLB.
The 6-4, 195-pound Dyer attended Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale. He played for Oregon in 2017 before sitting out the ’18 season as a transfer.
The 120th selection has a slot value of $478,300.
Yorke pick explained
Boston’s selection of UA signee Nick Yorke on Wednesday sent shockwaves through the broadcast studios at ESPN and MLB Network. Overnight, the thought process behind the pick began to crystalize.
The Red Sox chose the middle infielder from Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, California, at No. 17 overall — significantly higher than any website had ranked him. Besides liking him as a prospect, Boston saw an opportunity to sign a player for less than his slot value of $3.6 million — which was especially important for the Red Sox.
As John Tomase of NBC Sports Boston reported, the Red Sox not only lost their second-round pick as part of their sign-stealing punishment, they also forfeited about $1.4 million from their signing-bonus pool.
That left Boston with about $5.1 million to spend on four picks, the fifth-lowest amount in the draft, per Tomase.
The Red Sox would have had only about $1.5 million to spend on their final three selections if they had spent the full $3.6 million in Round 1.
Yorke didn’t specify how much he had agreed to sign for, but he did tell reporters: “Once their requirements hit my requirements, it was kind of just an opportunity to jump on and go play ball for them.”
The Red Sox had done a considerable amount of homework on Yorke, the second-highest-ranked prospect in Arizona’s 2020 class, and they believed his stock would have risen considerably with a full high school season.
Additionally, they didn’t believe he’d fall to their next pick, No. 89.
“We feel that if the spring had gotten to play out the way that it would in a normal year, the public perception of him would have been a lot different,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told reporters Wednesday night.
Said Johnson: "No matter who’s on field, he was always the best player on the field. It did catch us by surprise (that York was picked in Round 1) based on the intel we had up to that point,. But I was not surprised in terms of the quality of player he is."
The Red Sox took Mississippi high school third baseman Blaze Jordan, a Mississippi State signee, with the 89th pick. MLB.com ranked him as the No. 42 prospect in the ’20 draft.
No other signees picked
Yorke was the only member of Arizona's 2020 signing class to be drafted - a promising development for the program.
"It was like getting knocked down in the first round of a boxing match," Johnson said, "but getting up and winning rounds 2-15."
Besides Yorke, three of Arizona's signees were ranked in Baseball America's top 120: outfielder Chase Davis (55), two-way player TJ Nichols (111) and catcher Daniel Susac (118).
Davis posted an image of Hi Corbett Field to his Instagram Stories on Thursday with the caption "Next chapter." Susac, who could see immediate playing time with Wells and Dyer departing, tweeted the word "Omaha."
Omaha.
— Daniel Susac (@danielsusac10) June 11, 2020
"I'm very thankful to the players and their families on their conviction to choose Arizona over going to professional baseball immediately," Johnson said.
Because of the truncated draft and the NCAA's decision to grant an extra year of eligibility to 2020 seniors, Arizona should have a loaded roster next year. Senior relievers Preston Price and Vince Vannelle are planning to return. The Wildcats also bring back center fielder Donta Williams and middle infielder Jacob Blas, two players who might have been drafted under normal circumstances.
"Until the hay’s in the barn, you never know," Johnson said. "But I'm excited to get the new players with the returning players, get to work and mold them into the type of team we want to have."
Inside pitch
- Arizona State players bookended Day 1 of the draft and had the most players picked - five - of any college. Detroit took Spencer Torkelson No. 1 overall. Tampa Bay selected Alika Williams at No. 37. The Yankees selected Trevor Hauver in Round 3. The Tigers took another Sun Devil, third baseman Gage Workman, at the top of Round 4. The fifth ASU player, right-hander R.J. Dabovich, went to Stan Francisco in Round 5.
- Players who went undrafted can sign with MLB clubs as free agents, but the bonus money is being capped at $20,000 per player.
