by Adrian Doerfler
Daily Lobo
Two UNM baseball players were drafted in the 2007 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft on June 8.
Infielder Jordan Pacheco was picked in the ninth round by the Colorado Rockies and was the 282nd overall pick. Pitcher Bobby LaFromboise was taken in the 14th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 433rd pick.
Pacheco said being drafted by the MLB was his lifelong dream.
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"I'm really happy and real excited," he said. "It's a dream come true to get drafted in the MLB draft."
Pacheco, 2007 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and two-time All-American, hit a team-high .397 batting average with five home runs and 50 runs.
He led the conference in on-base-percentage (.511), runs (63), doubles (21) and walks (43). Pacheco is also a three-time All-MWC honoree.
The only Lobos to be drafted in an earlier round than Pacheco are Keith Hagman, who played for UNM from 1979 to 1980, and Aaron Sisk, who played from 1998 to 2000. Both were taken in the seventh round.
Even though Pacheco was drafted on the second day, he was excited about his situation.
"I was hoping to get drafted in the top 10 rounds," he said. "I ended up getting drafted in the ninth, so there was no complaints at all."
Meanwhile, LaFromboise finished the season with first-team All-MWC honors and as an All-MWC Tournament honoree. He was 7-3 with a 3.35 ERA in his first year at UNM after transferring from Rio Hondo Community College in Whittier, Calif. He struck out 74 batters in 88.2 innings.
The highlight of the year for LaFromboise came in the first round of the MWC tournament, where he threw a six-hit, complete-game shutout against San Diego State.
Both players have the option to head straight to the minor leagues or come back and help the Lobos for the 2008 season. After being honored as MWC Player of the Year, that was an easy decision for Albuquerque native Pacheco.
"I'm probably going to be leaving," he said. "I don't see myself coming back at this point."
The Lobos have had at least one player selected in the MLB First-Year Player Draft in 14 of the last 15 years, and the two are the 35th and 36th athletes selected under head coach Rich Alday.
Pacheco and LaFromboise are now a step closer to fulfilling a lifelong dream of buttoning up an MLB uniform. For Pacheco, that next step will take place in Casper, Wyo., where the Colorado Rockies have their Rookie League team.
Pacheco will get some experience playing different positions, something he is eager to start doing, he said.
"I'm excited about heading to Casper, meeting some new guys and starting my professional career," he said. "They told me I'll be playing some second base, a little shortstop, a little third base. They're going to move me around some. But I'm real excited about that, too."
