Jose Lopez Selected in Sixth Round by Reds
6/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 6, 2014
SECAUCAS, N.J. - Seton Hall junior Jose Lopez (Cranbury, N.J.) was selected in the sixth round of the 2014 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Cincinnati Reds on Friday. Lopez is the second member of the 2014 Pirates to be drafted joining Josh Prevost, who was drafted in the fifth round by the New York Mets.
Before being sidelined for the 2014 season, Lopez had established himself as one of the more reliable right-handed arms on the Seton Hall pitching staff. He had a sub-4.00 ERA in each of his first two seasons as a Pirate making a total of 39 appearances and 11 starts. In 2013, Lopez won back-to-back BIG EAST starts, throwing seven innings of two-run baseball vs. Georgetown and 5.2 innings at Villanova in which he struck out a season-high eight batters. The Cranbury, N.J. native finished the season in the bullpen earning a save vs. Michigan at Citi Field and seeing action in two of Seton Hall's three BIG EAST Tournament contests. Opponents hit just .180 against Lopez, which led the team.
As a freshman in 2012, Lopez made six starts including a seven-inning, three-hit gem vs. Pittsburgh in which he struck out a career-high 12 batters with no walks.
For his collegiate career, Lopez has struck out 94 batters with 31 walks in only 99.0 innings pitched.
In the 2013 MLB Draft, four Pirates were selected. Former Seton Hall closer Brian Gilbert was the earliest picked, chosen by the Minnesota Twins in the seventh round.
