Georgia junior pitcher Dean Weaver, junior outfielder Matt Cerione, junior pitcher Jeff Walters, junior infielder Michael Demperio, junior pitcher Alex McRee and senior catcher/designated hitter Bryce Massanari were selected Wednesday on the second day of the Major League Baseball Draft.
Weaver was taken in the seventh round by the Washington Nationals, Cerione in the 13th round by the Seattle Mariners, Walters in the 17th round by the Baltimore Orioles, Demperio in the 25th round by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, McRee in the 26th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Massanari in the 30th round by the Colorado Rockies.
A record total of eight Bulldogs have been drafted in the first 30 rounds. The First-Year Player draft will conclude with the final 20 rounds on Thursday.
Weaver went 4-2 with a 3.60 ERA and 10 saves for the Bulldogs in 2009. He finished the regular season fourth in the SEC in saves and recorded 32 strikeouts in 40.0 innings. Weaver was taken with the first pick in the seventh round.
Cerione hit .291 with 12 home runs and 43 RBI this season. He batted .303 for the 2008 SEC Championship team that finished with a No. 2 final ranking, and for his career Cerione is hitting .299 with 19 home runs and 83 RBI.
Walters was drafted for the fourth time in his career. He posted a 2-0 record with a 4.64 ERA and had two starts in the postseason for Georgia in 2009. He spent the previous two seasons at St. Petersburg College where he went 3-0 in 2008.
Demperio has started 104 games in his college career including 93 at Georgia, after transferring from the University of Texas. He played in 57 games for Georgia in 2009 and hit .252 with three home runs and 14 RBI. He has 20 career stolen bases in 24 attempts.
McRee, a Chestatee High graduate, was 4-4 with a 6.27 ERA in 2009. He posted a 7-1 record with a 3.98 ERA in 2008 and was named preseason All-America by Baseball America.
Massanari hit .316 with 30 home runs and 122 RBI in his two seasons with the Bulldogs. He transferred to Georgia from Southern Nevada and hit .325 in 2008. This season, Massanari batted .305 with 19 home runs, and his 13 home runs in SEC games was tied for second in the league. He was named second team All- SEC.
A pair of Bulldogs including Rich Poythress and Trevor Holder were drafted on Tuesday. Poythress was taken in the second round by Seattle and Holder was selected in the third round by Washington.