June 8, 2005
NEW YORK, N.Y. - UCF redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Taylor Cobb was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 42nd round Wednesday in the 2005 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Cobb is the seventh UCF player to be drafted, joining junior right-handed pitcher Mike Billek (Chicago Cubs, third round), junior catcher Drew Butera (New York Mets, fifth round), junior outfielder John-Michael Howell (Washington Nationals, ninth round), senior outfielder Dee Brown (Washington Nationals, 10th round), senior right-handed pitcher Darren Newlin (Pittsburgh Pirates, 17th round) and senior shortstop Marshall Bernhard (Toronto Blue Jays, 26th round).
The seven UCF players drafted are the second-highest amount in school history. The 1998 team had a school-record 10 players taken in the draft.
In addition, five UCF recruits were drafted Wednesday, the most in UCF history. Outfielder David DiNatale (Parkland, Fla./Douglas) was drafted in the 22nd round by the Pittsburgh Pirates, first baseman Kiko Vazquez (Sebring, Fla./Sebring) went in the 30th round to the Minnesota Twins, right-handed pitcher Kyle Sweat (Apopka, Fla./Apopka) was a 42nd round selection of the Pittsburgh Pirates, outfielder Chadd Hartman (Windermere, Fla./Olympia) was a 43rd round pick of the Cleveland Indians and left-handed pitcher Mitch Houck (Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay) was picked in the 50th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Cobb returned to action in 2005 after missing all of 2004 with an arm injury. In limited action, Cobb appeared in seven games, making six starts. He was 3-1 with a 6.10 ERA in 31.0 innings of work. Cobb totaled 17 strikeouts and 15 walks while opponents hit .281 off the right-hander.
For his career, Cobb is 7-4 with a 5.12 ERA in 84.1 innings. He has 58 career strikeouts in 23 games, including 15 starts.