White selected by Giants in 40th round

By Travis Young - Vanderbilt fifth-year senior Jonathan White was just drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 40th round (1197th pick overall) of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft. It marks the second time that White has heard his named called during the annual June draft. The Shelbyville, Tenn., native was taken by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 24th round of the 2007 draft but elected to return to Vanderbilt for his final two seasons.

Here is a list of the Vanderbilt players that have been drafted (through 40 rounds)
First Round: Mike Minor (7), Atlanta Braves
Fifth Round: Caleb Cotham (165), New York Yankees
13th Round: Nick Christiani (389), Cincinnati Reds
15th Round: Steven Liddle (462), Minnesota Twins
22nd Round: Drew Hayes (653), Seattle Mariners
40th Round: Jonathan White (1197), San Francisco Giants

Click here to follow the final day of the MLB.com draft.

Final day of MLB Draft is underway

By Travis Young - The third and final day of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft is underway. Click here for the MLB.com draft tracker to follow the day's events. Today's draft will cover the final 20 rounds (Rounds 31-50). The Commodores have had five players drafted through the first two days.

Day 2 of MLB Draft Ends

By Travis Young - As the scouting directors and cross checkers from all 30 Major League clubs go back to the drawing board in their top secret draft room Thursday evening, a total of 921 players have been selected in the last two days of the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Four Commodores heard their names called during the day. Caleb Cotham (5th round), Nick Christiani (13th round), Steven Liddle (15th round) and Drew Hayes (22nd round) were selected Wednesday. See below to see where each player went and what team selected them.

The third and final day of the 2009 MLB Draft will resume Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m. CT with rounds 31-50. Follow each team's selections by logging on to MLB.com ... and make sure you stay with our blog for Vanderbilt updates.

Here is a list of the Vanderbilt players that have been drafted (through 30 rounds)
First Round: Mike Minor (7), Atlanta Braves
Fifth Round: Caleb Cotham (165), New York Yankees
13th Round: Nick Christiani (389), Cincinnati Reds
15th Round: Steven Liddle (462), Minnesota Twins
22nd Round: Drew Hayes (653), Seattle Mariners

Also, two players in last fall's signing class were also drafted. Sam Selman, a left-handed pitcher from St. Andrews Episcopal in Austin, Texas, was picked in the 14th round by the Los Angeles Angels, while Regan Flaherty, a first baseman from Portland, Maine, was selected in the 28th round by the Seattle Mariners. Selman was ranked the 24th best prospect in Texas by Baseball America, while Flaherty has Vanderbilt bloodlines as his brother Ryan achieved All-American status as a Commodore from 2006-08.

Hayes drafted by Mariners in 22nd Round

By Travis Young - Vanderbilt junior right-hander Drew Hayes was just drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 22nd round (653rd pick overall) in the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft. It marks the second time that Hayes has been drafted. The McKenzie, Tenn., native was taken out of high school by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 29th round of the 2006 amateur draft.

Click here to follow the second day of the MLB.com draft.

Liddle drafted by Twins in 15th round

By Travis Young - Vanderbilt outfielder Steven Liddle was just drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 15th round (462nd pick overall) of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft. Liddle was draft eligible because he redshirted his first season at VU. A product of Franklin, Tenn., Liddle has a small connection to the Twins organization as his uncle serves as the bench coach for the big league club.

Christiani drafted by Reds in 13th round

By Travis Young - Vanderbilt senior right-hander Nick Christiani was just drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 13th round of the Major League Baseball draft. Christiani was the the 389th overall selection and the eighth player off the board in the 13th round. A native of Linden, N.J., Christiani was drafted for the second consecutive season. He was taken by the Cleveland Indians in the 32nd round last year, but decided to return to the Commodores for his senior season.

Cotham drafted by Yankees in fifth round

By Travis Young - Vanderbilt right-hander Caleb Cotham was just drafted by the New York Yankees in the fifth round (165th pick overall). Cotham is the second Vanderbilt player to be drafted in the 2009 draft. Minor went to the Braves as the No. 7 overall pick in yesterday's first round.

Day 2 of MLB Draft underway

The second day of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft is underway. Click here for the MLB.com draft tracker to follow the day's events. Today's draft started with the fourth round and is scheduled to go through the 30th round.

Day 1 of MLB Draft ends

by Barca Blog - Well, after almost five hours and 111 picks, the opening day of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft has concluded. Mike Minor was the only Commodore to be taken on Tuesday, going to the Braves in the first round, seventh overall.

Day 2 (of 3) of the draft will resume Wednesday with rounds 4-30 starting at 11 a.m. CT. Follow each team's selections by logging on to MLB.com ... and make sure you stay with our blog for Vanderbilt updates.

Minor's first quotes

by Barca Blog - Here are a couple of Mike Minor's first statements (courtesy of the Associated Press) about being selected by the Atlanta Braves earlier tonight.

On being drafted by the Braves
"Being so close to home, all my friends and family can come see me play when I do make it. Everyone is going wild. It's awesome to be with the Braves."

On contract negotiations
"I see it happening pretty quick, probably in the next week or two or whatever. I'm definitely not planning to hold out. If they have a fair offer, it should be pretty soon."

Corbin talks about Minor

by Barca Blog - Head coach Tim Corbin just released a statement on junior pitcher Mike Minor, who was selected by the Atlanta Braves with the seventh overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft earlier tonight.

"Mikie is as good as any of the pitchers that have been in our program," said Corbin. "Like Jeremy Sowers, Casey Weathers and David Price before him, Mikie will be another Vanderbilt pitcher that has developed in our system and under pitching coach Derek Johnson and become a first rounder. He has been a phenomenal young man to coach and I will miss what he and his family brought to our program. I am excited for him and look forward to watching him play at the next level."

Click here to read VUcommodores.com's official press release... And check out the AP story by Paul Newberry.

Scouting director comments on Minor

by Barca Blog - Atlanta director of scouting Roy Clark has released a statement on the Braves' decision to select Vanderbilt junior pitcher Mike Minor with their first round pick.

"This guy is a winner," Clark said. "We've been tracking him for a long time. We were hoping for the opportunity to select him and now I'm just hoping for the opportunity to sign him."

Read more here on AtlantaBraves.com.

Fans can continue to follow the first day of the draft on MLB.com.

Braves take Minor with 7th overall pick

By Travis Young -- Vanderbilt junior left-hander Mike Minor was drafted by the Atlanta Braves as the No. 7 overall selection in the first round of 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Minor became the sixth first round pick the Commodores have had in the last six years and the 12th in the history of the program. Vanderbilt has now had five players taken in the first round dating back to the 2007 season, including four top-10 overall selections. Minor joins David Price, Casey Weathers, Pedro Alvarez and Jeremy Sowers as the five players that have been selected in the top 10 under head coach Tim Corbin.

It also marks the third consecutive season that Vanderbilt had the first player from the Southeastern Conference drafted.

The baseball draft is upon us

by SID - With the new format of the baseball draft, we are likely to find out the draft status of a couple of Commodores this evening when things begin at 5 p.m. CT.

All of the experts agree that junior left-hander Mike Minor is a first round pick, but where he gets drafted is up in the air. Unlike David Price and Pedro Alvarez the last two years, two definite top five picks, Minor has been projected to go as high as No. 3 by some and as low as in the 20's by others. In any case he will be the sixth first round pick the Commodores have had in the last six years and the 12th in the history of the program.

Righthander Caleb Cotham, a redshirt sophomore in his third year at Vanderbilt, could also be picked today or early tomorrow. Several other Commodores are draft eligible and could be picked during the three day draft. We will have a full recap when things are complete on Thursday.

Today will consist of the first 111 picks, including Round One, Compensation Round A, Round Two, Round Three and Compensation Round B. There will be four minutes between first-round picks and one minute between all other selections. On Wednesday, the Draft will resume in the fourth round at 11 a.m. and will be tentatively scheduled to go through the 30th round. The Draft will conclude on Thursday with the 31st through 50th rounds, beginning at 10:30 a.m.

MLB Network will televise the entire first round live for the first time at its new studios in New Jersey, after two years of ESPN broadcasting the event at Disney World in Florida.

The 32 first-round selections will also be simulcast live on MLB.com. Beginning with the 33rd pick, up-to-the-minute on-air coverage from the remaining rounds will shift exclusively to MLB.com/Live, where host Vinny Micucci will be joined by MLB.com Draft expert Jonathan Mayo and Major League Scouting Bureau director Frank Marcos.

Here is MLB.com's scouting report on Minor.

Video: Mike Minor highlights

by Barca Blog - Get ready for this week's MLB Draft by watching highlights of Mike Minor during his Vanderbilt career.