Mike Zunino was selected by the Mariners with the third overall pick in the draft two weeks ago and today Baseball America named the University of Florida catcher their college player of the year.
Zunino hit .322 with a 1.069 OPS for the Gators, ranking fourth in the country with 19 homers, 10th with 67 RBIs, and 11th with a .669 slugging percentage. He also received praise for his leadership and defense behind the plate.
He hasn’t signed with the Mariners yet because the Gators were only recently eliminated from the College World Series, but the slot amount for the No. 3 pick is $5.2 million.
UCLA pitcher Trevor Bauer was Baseball America‘s college player of the year in 2011 and the 21-year-old right-hander is already at Triple-A after being selected third overall by the Diamondbacks. Other winners during the past five years are Anthony Rendon, Stephen Strasburg, Buster Posey, and David Price.