June 8, 2010
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Tampa Bay Rays selected redshirt sophomore catcher Matt Koch with the 671st overall pick in the 22nd round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft on Tuesday. Fellow redshirt sophomore Martin Viramontes was taken just five rounds later, selected as the 835th overall pick in the 27th round by the New York Yankees. LMU standout recruits Gabe Encinas (St. Paul HS - sixth round, 205th overall by Yankees) and Hunter Jones (Lakewood HS - 11th round, 330 overall by Cleveland) were also taken on Wednesday.
After missing all of last year due to injury, Koch batted .257 with 37 runs scored, 13 doubles, 15 home runs and 48 RBI this year. He slugged .539 and reached base at a .331 clip. The right-handed slugger collected his first career multi-homer game on May 11 versus Cal Poly, batting 2-for-5 with the two round-trippers and a career-best four RBI. Koch belted home runs in back-to-back games on four occasions this season, including for the final time on May 16 versus Pepperdine and May 18 at then-No. 9 Cal State Fullerton. The homer against the Titans was his 15th and final of the season, moving him into the top-10 of the single-season record books. He blasted five home runs over an eight-game hitting streak from March 12 through March 21. He was 12-for-31 (.387) with nine runs scored, two doubles, five home runs, two walks and nine RBI over the span, collecting a slugging percentage of .935. Koch finished the season ranked tied for second in the WCC in home runs, fifth in RBI, tied for seventh in total bases (111), and 10th in slugging percentage. The team leader in slugging percentage, RBI, home runs and total bases, he posted 16 multiple-hit games and a team-high tying 11 multiple-RBI games.
Viramontes finished the 2010 season with a 4-7 record and a 7.53 ERA. He started 14 games for the Lions, serving as LMU's Friday starter to begin the season. The native of Fresno, Calif. pitched 71.2 innings and struck out 59 batters. The highlight of the right-hander's season came when he carried a no-hitter through two out and two strikes in the ninth inning en route to tossing a two-hit shutout against Saint Mary's on May 2. For his effort, Viramontes was named WCC Pitcher of the Week and CollegeBaseballInsider.com's West Region Pitcher of the Week. Moreover, he was also named to College Baseball Foundation's National All-Star Lineup. Viramontes went all nine innings, allowing just the two hits and two walks while striking out a season-best nine batters. He threw 132 pitches en route to the complete-game two-hit shutout. The right-hander retired 15 straight from the fourth inning through the first Gael hit, collected by Ryan Mulligan, on a 3-2 pitch with two-out in the ninth. Pitching in his hometown of Fresno, Calif. on March 19 at Fresno State, Viramontes tossed six and a third innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on nine hits and two walks while striking out two to earn his first victory of the season. Tuesday marked the second time that Viramontes had been drafted, originally selected in the 11th round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
The draft will continue tomorrow, with rounds 31-50 scheduled to be drafted.
