Follow the draft on the MLB draft tracker, rounds 2-15 today; 16-40 on Wednesday
2012 Major League Baseball Draft
Bonita/UCLA, Jeff Gelalich, Cincinnati Reds, 1st round supplemental, 57th overall
Los Altos Joe Munoz, Arizona Diamondbacks, 2nd round, 90th overall
Bishop Amat’s Rio Ruiz, Houston Astros, 4th round, 129th overall
San Dimas/APU, Jordan Leyland, Toronto Blue Jays, 9th round, 295th overall
By Fred J. Robledo, SGVN, twitter@sgvtribpreps
The wait ended early Tuesday morning for Los Altos High School’s Joe Munoz and Bishop Amat’s Rio Ruiz, who were selected during the second day of Major League Baseball’s 2012 draft.
Munoz was selected in the second round and 90th overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks while Ruiz, a first-round projection until a blood clot ended his high school season, slipped to the fourth round and 129th overall by the Houston Astros.
Azusa Pacific’s Jordan Leyland, a San Dimas High graduate named the Golden State Athletic Conference player of the year after batting .441 with 20 HRs and 64 RBIs, was selected in the ninth round by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Munoz, a 6-foot-3 shortstop and pitcher for the Conquerors, had a dominant senior season in leading his team to the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 quarterfinals. He batted .419 with 27 RBIs, nine doubles, five triples and five home runs.
Munoz heard all the predictions as the draft approached. He was projected anywhere from late in the first round to the middle rounds of MLBs massive draft.
He was at school monitoring the draft on his cell phone when his name was called.
“It was a crazy moment,” Munoz said. “I hadn’t heard from the Diamondbacks for two days so I didn’t know when it (getting drafted) was going to happen.
Then his name appeared.
“My heart just dropped,” Munoz said. “It was an incredible feeling.”
Munoz, who signed a national letter of intent with San Diego State, was thrilled with a top 100 selection and has a big decision to make, whether to sign with Arizona or go to college.
“I need to talk to my parents and discuss everything,” Munoz said. “It’s a crazy week getting drafted, graduating and everything else. I’m still coming to terms with all of this, it’s the greatest feeling in the world so that decision will come later.
Ruiz, who gave a verbal commitment to USC as a freshman, had maintained all along that fulfilling his commitment to USC was a serious alternative regardless of where he was drafted.
By going in the fourth round, Ruiz’s chances of going to USC are even greater.
“We have a month to figure it all out and we’ll see what happens,” said Rudy Ruiz, Rio’s father. “Teams knew all along that Rio was a very strong USC commit and with his arm (blood clot) issue, it obviously made some teams rethink their plans.
“We’re going to listen to Houston and see what their plans are, but it would obviously take a pretty-good offer to lure him away from USC. But you never know, either way it’s a great situation for him to be in.”
Rio Ruiz echoed his father’s sentiments during Monday’s San Gabriel Valley all-star game at Mt. SAC.
“It’s a win-win situation,” Rio Ruiz said. “You couldn’t go wrong with either one.
“I either get an education, play college ball and live the college life, or start my pro career, which is something I’ve always wanted to do.”
