June 8, 2013
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky junior infielder J.T. Riddle has been picked in the 13th round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the Miami Marlins, going No. 382 overall, it was announced on Saturday afternoon from the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, N.J.
Riddle now gives UK four players picked in the first 15 rounds of the 2013 MLB Draft, a year removed from a school-record nine players picked in the 2012 MLB Draft, the second-most in the NCAA.
Riddle joins Corey Littrell, Trevor Gott and Jerad Grundy was UK draft selections. Littrell was picked in the fifth round (No. 143) by the Boston Red Sox, Gott was picked in the sixth round (No. 178) by the San Diego Padres and Grundy was picked in the 10th round (No. 311) by the San Diego Padres.
Riddle, a native of Frankfort, Ky., has been a three-year starter for the Wildcats after earning Kentucky High School Mr. Baseball honors out of Western Hills in 2010. As a junior, Riddle started all 55 games for UK at second base, batting .283 with seven doubles, two triples, one homer and 20 RBI, stealing six bases and sporting a 22-14 walk-strikeout ratio.
Known as a dynamic defender with a great infield arm and an ability to make game-changing plays, Riddle fielded .983 in 2013 while leading all Southeastern Conference second baseman in defensive assists. During his 2012 summer in the Cape Cod League, Riddle led the circuit in assists while manning second base. Spanning his 2012 and 2013 seasons with the Wildcats, Riddle ran up a stretch of 358.1 consecutive innings without making an error, despite playing in the middle infield for 121 consecutive starts.
In his three-year career, Riddle has played in 168 games with 161 starts, batting .283 with 28 doubles, three triples, nine homers and 83 RBI, stealing 16 bases. As a sophomore, Riddle batting .279 with 12 doubles, one triple, five homers and 38 RBI. During his freshman season in 2011, Riddle hit .288 with nine doubles, three homers and 25 RBI, stealing seven bases.
Riddle was selected in the MLB Draft out of high school in the 35th round by the Boston Red Sox.
The 2013 MLB Draft will conclude with rounds 11-40 on Saturday, with complete coverage on MLB.com.
