SECAUCUS, N.J. -- One college program became the face of baseball's future Monday, when two UCLA arms made history by pacing a pitching-rich haul at the top of the First-Year Player Draft.
Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer were both selected in the first three picks of the Draft, setting a trend that started early and carried through the rest of the night. The first four players selected were all pitchers for the first time ever, and 12 arms had been taken by the time the Draft pulled through 20 picks.
The choices of Cole and Bauer, respectively selected by Pittsburgh and Arizona, marked the first time since 1978 that two college teammates had been taken in the top three picks of the Draft. Arizona State had earned the honor last time, with Bob Horner and Hubie Brooks taken first and third overall.
Cole, who went 6-8 with a 3.31 ERA for UCLA as a junior, gives the Pirates another potential high-impact arm in the farm system to pair with fast-rising Jameson Taillon, last year's second overall draftee.
And by doing so, he validated a bet that he had made on himself. Cole was taken 28th overall by the Yankees out of high school in 2008, but instead chose to attend UCLA and further mature as a player. Now, he comes out of school with some inherently valuable experience and with vastly improved Draft stock.
Pitching, no doubt, was the theme of the night. Pitchers had been taken with the top two picks in the Draft on just two prior occasions (in 1976 and 2006). Nineteen pitchers -- 13 right-handers and six left-handers -- went in the first round, which put this Draft one shy of the record set in 1999 and equaled in 2001.
Some other trends made themselves evident as the night progressed. Fifteen of the 34 first-rounders came from the prep ranks, but only one catcher went in the opening round. The state of California produced six first-round draftees, but in an odd twist, only one of them was a high school position player.
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