Pop, Procopio selected on Day II of draft

Right-handed pitchers Zach Pop (left) and Daniel Procopio (right) were the only two Canadians selected on the second day of the 2017 MLB Draft. Photo Credit: Baseball Canada

June 13, 2017

MLB Draft: Pop, Procopio selected on day two of draft

By Adam Morissette

Baseball Canada

OTTAWA- A pair of Junior National Team alums, Zach Pop (Brampton, Ont.) and Daniel Procopio (Toronto, Ont.), were the lone Canadians selected on day two of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, bringing the two-day total to four Canadians chosen through the first 10 rounds.

The Los Angeles Dodgers used their seventh round selection, 220th overall on Pop, a right-handed pitcher out of the University of Kentucky, while the Los Angeles Angels used their tenth round selection (295th overall) on Procopio, a right-handed pitcher out of Niagara (NY) University.

Pop spent the 2017 season pitching as the Wildcats’ set-up man and appeared in 22 games where he struck out 20 in 20.2 innings, giving up 19 hits and holding batters to a .247 average.

In 2014, Pop was a 23rd round selection of the Toronto Blue Jays but did not sign with the club. Later that year, he helped Canada to a bronze medal at the COPABE U-18 Pan American Championships in La Paz, Mexico.

Procopio started 12 games for the Purple Eagles and went 6-4 with a 4.19 ERA. He had an impressive 75 strikeouts over 58 innings pitched and limited batters to a .203 average.

Procopio represented Canada in 2013 at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in Taichung, Taiwan. He was drafted by the New York Mets in 22nd round of the 2013 MLB Draft as a high school player.

The final day of the MLB Draft goes Wednesday with rounds 11 through 40 beginning at Noon ET.

Canadians selected in 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft

1. RHP Landon Leach (Pickering, Ont.) – Minnesota Twins – 2nd Round (37th overall) Junior National Team/Toronto Mets
2. SS Adam Hall (London, Ont.) – Baltimore Orioles – 2nd Round (60th overall) Junior National Team/Great Lake Canadians
*3. RHP Zach Pop (Brampton, Ont.) – Los Angeles Dodgers – 7th Round (220th overall) University of Kentucky
*4. RHP Daniel Procopio (Toronto, Ont.) – Los Angeles Angels – 10th Round (295th overall) Niagara University

*Junior National Team alumni