BOCA RATON, Fla. – Tuesday’s third day of the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft saw two Florida Atlantic University players taken, as third baseman B.J. Murray was selected in the 15th round by the Chicago Cubs, while righthanded pitcher Javi Rivera was chosen by the Cincinnati Reds in the 20th round. With only the exception of the shortened five-round 2020 draft, this marks at least one Owl being drafted in 15 of the last 16 seasons. Murray became the 100th draft pick in FAU baseball program history when he came off the board at No. 454. The third-year sophomore, and native of Nassau, Bahamas, was chosen following a breakout 2021 campaign. The All-Conference USA Second Team member started all 57 games, batting .317 with an FAU-high 14 home runs (fourth in C-USA) and 52 RBI (second on the team and 12th in C-USA). He also finished fifth in the conference with 41 walks, and eighth slugging .584, both numbers leading the Owls.  Taken in the final round Tuesday, with pick No. 600, Rivera’s first season with the Owls saw him make a team-high 14 starts. He posted an unblemished 7-0 record, including a 5-0 mark against C-USA foes. Those seven total wins were eighth best among league pitchers, and his .248 average against was 13th. He also led the Owls with 70 strikeouts, recording a high of nine against Charlotte at the C-USA Championship, and he threw two complete games, totaling eight strikeouts in each of those outings. Murray becomes the third Owl ever to hear his name called by the Cubs franchise, after Kyle Miller in 2015, and eventual big leaguer Jeff Beliveau, taken in 2008 (and debuting for the team in 2012). Rivera is the fourth Reds draftee, the most recent being Robert Orton in 2004. He would join current Reds farmhand Francisco Urbaez in the organization, as he signed as an undrafted free agent after last year’s shortened season, and debuted this spring. |
