A Well-Heeled Draft?: Four players or recruits could be among those picked in the first round

Dustin Ackley kept his attention on North Carolina's baseball season all through the weekend during NCAA Tournament play, but today he can be occupied with his professional future for at least 24 hours.

Major-League Baseball will start its annual first-year player draft at 6 p.m. in Secaucus, N.J., and Ackley, UNC's first baseman, is expected to go quickly, possibly by the No. 2 pick.

Ackley, a Walnut Cove resident and North Forsyth High School graduate, is among four players with UNC connections who could be taken in the first round. Alex White, a UNC starting pitcher; Donovan Tate, a football recruit and center fielder, and Jacob Turner, a pitcher and baseball recruit, are highly regarded prospects also.

After three record-breaking UNC seasons, Ackley is confident that he is ready to play professionally once the team's season is finished after the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., which will begin later this week.

"It's helped me a lot," Ackley said of playing college baseball. "I was thinking of how I've gotten better in baseball, but also by living on my own and growing up.

"It definitely helped me to come to school, strengthwise, and face better competition than I saw in high school. Overall everything has helped me prepare for what's coming up."

The Seattle Mariners have the No. 2 pick. If the Washington Nationals take Stephen Strasburg, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher from San Diego State, with the No. 1 pick, the Mariners are expected to take Ackley.

Baseball America, Scouts Inc., and the Major League Baseball Draft Site all project Ackley as the No. 2 pick, as of late yesterday.

Ackley will be in Chapel Hill and will watch the draft with his family. He was invited to the New York metropolitan area to attend the draft but declined. White declined also.

Both players are more concerned with UNC's season and the team's chances of winning the NCAA Tournament title after three previous shortcomings in the College World Series.

"I know I'd be going up there for only a couple of hours," Ackley said.

"A lot of travel probably wouldn't be good on us. It's our time and we feel like we should be with our families and around our teammates."

The team that selects Ackley will be getting one of the best hitters in college baseball for the last three seasons, for both reaching base and for power.

Ackley's .410 career batting average is the best in UNC history.

He is batting .412 for the season and has never batted less than .402 in any UNC season.

He holds school records for most hits (338), most runs scored (225) and total bases (535). He has 39 career home runs, with 22 coming this season.

"I'm a hard worker," Ackley said. "I'll do anything that it takes to win."

White, a righthanded pitcher, is projected by the Major League Draft Site as the No. 5 pick, going to the Baltimore Orioles.

Scouts Inc. projects him at No. 7, going to the Atlanta Braves. Baseball America has him at No. 11, going to the Colorado Rockies.

Baseball America officials said yesterday that White could rise into the top 10 in their final projections, which will be released today, and could be projected at No. 8, going to the Cincinnati Reds.

"I still don't know what's going to happen," White said. "It's getting close and it's definitely very exciting. It's a fun time. You just kind of enjoy it and see what happens."

White was a 14th-round draft choice by the Los Angeles Dodgers three years ago as a high-school senior at Greenville Conley. He believes that he is a much better pitcher now after three college seasons and is better prepared to play professionally.

"It was a great opportunity coming out of high school to have that kind of exposure and the ability to make the choice between the two," White said. "I obviously made the right choice. Three years of school has been great for me."

Ackley and White played on three UNC teams that reached the College World Series and one that finished national runner-up in 2007, when they were freshmen.

Coach Mike Fox of UNC said that both players earned their first-round status because of the hard work they put in during their careers to improve as players.

"It probably won't happen the rest of my career to have two players of that stature," Fox said. "They came into this program extremely, extremely talented. We were fortunate to get both of them.

"The biggest compliment I can pay both of them is they've been really team players. They're great teammates. They haven't separated themselves in any way (from the other UNC players) because of their draft status.

"We'll certainly wish them well. It speaks to them more than it certainly does to our program."

Tate is a high-school senior from Cartersville, Ga. He is a quarterback in football and signed with UNC last February in the NCAA's football signing period.

Baseball America, Scouts Inc. and the Major League Draft Site project Tate the No. 3 pick, which is held by the San Diego Padres.

Turner is a right-handed pitcher from St. Charles, Mo., and a member of Fox's 2009 recruiting class. Baseball America, Scouts Inc. and the Major League Draft Site project him as the No. 9 pick, which is held by the Detroit Tigers.

■ Bill Cole can be reached at bcole@wsjournal.com.

Dustin Ackley

Vitals: 6-1, 185, junior, bats left, throws right

Position: First base/outfield

Hometown: Walnut Cove

2009 stats: .412 batting average (103-250) with 17 doubles, 4 triples, 22 homers, 70 RBIs

UNC career stats: .410 batting average (338-824) with 58 doubles, 11 triples, 39 homers, 195 RBIs

Honors: Consensus national freshman of the year, freshman All-America and ACC rookie of the year (2007); second-team All-America (2008); ACC player of the year, first-team All-America, Golden Spikes finalist as college player of the year, most valuable player of NCAA regional (10-14 batting in three games, .714 average) (2009)

Draft projection: No. 2 (Seattle Mariners)

Alex White

Vitals: 6-3, 200, junior, throws right, bats right

Position: Starting pitcher

Hometown: Greenville

2009 stats: 8-4 record, 4.13 ERA, 109 strikeouts in 86 innings, .234 opponents' batting average

UNC career stats: 27-14 record, 3.96 ERA, 305 strikeouts in 286 innings

Honors: All-ACC Tournament and second-team freshman All-America (2007); first-team All-ACC, second-team All-America, ACC pitcher of the year (2008); All-ACC (2009)

Draft projection: Between No. 5 (Baltimore Orioles) and No. 12 (Kansas City Royals)