JUNIOR GABE JACOBO TAKEN IN 10TH ROUND OF 2008 MLB DRAFT

6/6/2008

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Junior Gabe Jacobo was drafted in the 10th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball First Year Draft by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Friday, June 6.

Jacobo, the 319th overall selection, has posted a .362 career average in three years in the Green and Gold, including a career-best .379 mark in 2008. The Tulare, Calif. native has started 116 career games, including 56 games in 2007 and all 58 of the Hornets contests in 2008. He currently ranks fourth in Hornet history in career home runs with 29, while ranking third in career RBI with 111. His career batting average ranks eighth in school history, while he ranks fifth in career hits with 170.

During the 2008 season, Jacobo showed his versatility, starting 31 games in left field, 25 games at first base and two games at designated hitter. His 66 RBI rank as the second best single-season mark in school history, while his 15 home runs rank as the seventh most prolific mark in a season in the Hornet record book. He became just the third Hornet in the Division I era to post three home runs in a single game, after hitting round-trippers in each of his first three at bats at Louisiana Tech on April 3. He posted a .997 fielding percentage on the season, committing just one error, while stealing seven bases in 10 chances.

Jacobo was a preseason Brooks Wallace Watch candidate for National Player of the Year, as well as a preseason all-conference selection by Baseball America. He earned second team all-Western Athletic Conference honors as a utility player, his first career postseason award. Prior to the draft, he was ranked the 175th best draft eligible prospect by Baseball America.

After spending the 2007 summer season with the Anchorage Bucs, Jacobo was named to the Alaska Baseball League all-star team after hitting .286 with a team leading five home runs and 38 RBI while playing third base, the position in which he was drafted. He was ranked the fourth best prospect in the ABL in 2007 by Baseball America.

Jacobo was the highest Hornet player selected in the MLB Draft since Chris Kinsey was a fourth round selection by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2003. The selection marks the second straight year that a Hornet was drafted, after right-handed pitcher Mitch Lively was selected in the 16th round by the Colorado Rockies in 2007.