Sahuaro’s Javier Medina and Salpointe Catholic’s Donny Sands both woke up Tuesday and treated it as if were just like any other summer morning.
Within a matter of hours, so much changed.
The two Southern Arizona high school baseball products were each taken in the second day of the MLB draft. Medina, a right-handed pitcher, was chosen by the Colorado Rockies with the No. 77 pick overall and the second selection of the morning.
“I was awake for probably 10 or 15 minutes before I heard my name,” said Medina, who is signed to play for the Arizona Wildcats. “It was a pretty exciting moment for me and my family.
“I knew I had an opportunity to go (Tuesday), I just didn’t know I was going to go this high.”
Sands, who was signed to play for New Mexico, had his name called by the New York Yankees in the eighth round, with the 243rd pick overall. He was selected as a third baseman and became the first local player taken by the Yankees since Amphitheater’s Alex Brown in 2010.
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“I’m feeling a lot of emotions, a lot of happiness. It’s like a dream come true,”Sands said.
Both Medina and Sands are expected to bypass college for the pros. The draft concludes Wednesday and there are several other Southern Arizona players expected to be taken, including UA signees Jio Orozco, Cesar Salazar and Sati Santa Cruz.
“There’s a lot of great players down here so it’s pretty special that I’m considered one of the best,” Medina said.
Medina spoke with new Arizona coach Jay Johnson on Sunday and said, “he sounds like a really good guy.”
However, the dream of playing professionally and a signing bonus of around $789,000 is hard to pass up.
This marked the second year in a row that Sahuaro had the first local high school player drafted; Alex Verdugo went on the opening night of last year’s event. Medina was the second high school player to go statewide, after Buckeye Verrado’s Blake Perkins.
“I really wish I could tell you what I was thinking but I was in shock,” Medina said. “I was pretty excited when my adviser told me. I didn’t say anything, I was just thinking, ‘Wow, I am going to be aRockie.’ That’s the only thing that was going through my mind.”
Medina, who is originally from Hermosillo, Mexico, was limited to playing less than one season in his three years at Sahuaro but he surely made the best of it. The 6-foot-2-inch, 190-pound 17-year-old went 4-0 this spring with a 0.76 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 37 innings pitched.
Sands, who played his first two seasons at Empire, helped Salpointe reach the Division II state semifinals as he batted .450 with 36 RBIs and 15 extra-base hits. The shortstop doubled as the closer for the Lancers and had six saves along with a 2.40 ERA and 38 strikeouts in less than 24 innings pitched.
After getting the call, Sands raced to his mother’s workplace to surprise her. He walked into the back of the dental office and made a beeline for his mother, Alma, and the two embraced.
“I know the Yankees have been a very strong team,” she said. “All the time I said, ‘Donny you’re going to be a Yankees player. You’re going to be the next Derek Jeter. Donny, I know you can do it.’”
Sands is headed to Tampa, Florida, and has been told to be ready to play by Friday. He won’t know whether he’s headed for a rookie league or High-A.
“Now it’s a reality,” Sands said. “I have to get to work, it’s a job. I’m going to be the first one in there and the last one to leave.”
