Mantiply, Giannini selected in Major League Baseball draft

Joe Mantiply was relaxing at the beach when he unexpectedly got a phone call. Cameron Giannini had stopped following the Major League Baseball draft the day before when the phone rang for him on Thursday.

On both of their phones, scouts informed the two recent high school graduates that they had been drafted.

Tunstall’s Mantiply and Hargrave’s Giannini were drafted 16 picks apart Thursday in the 2009 MLB draft, with Mantiply going to the New York Mets with the 1,454th pick and Giannini selected by the Detroit Tigers with the 1,470th pick.

“It’s an honor to get drafted and have the potential to go pro. However, there are a lot of benefits of going to college,” Giannini said. “It would give me three more years to mature and develop as a pitcher. Plus, there’s the whole college experience with the tournament and making friends.”

While both have time to decide whether to go pro or continue on to college, Mantiply has decided he will head to Virginia Tech and pitch for the Hokies. Giannini has signed with Liberty University, but was told by the Tigers that they will follow his progress over the summer and decide if they will offer closer to August.

“I was actually really surprised. It’s very exciting, but I want to go to school,” Mantiply said. “(My parents and I have) been talking about it since this whole process started. We talked with my advisor and he talked about how it would be better to go to school and develop and worry about the draft in three years.”

Mantiply and Giannini were both first-team all-state for their respective teams. Mantiply was named first-team Group AA all-state by the Virginia High School Coaches Association and Giannini was named first-team VISAA Division 1 all-state.

Mantiply, a left-hander who stands at 6-foot-5, finished his career with the Trojans at 33-2 with a 1.00 ERA and 358 strikeouts. He was player of the year in both the Piedmont District and Region IV and is the third Tunstall pitcher to be drafted since 2005 —Will Inman in 2005 and Jacob Thompson a year ago.

“Our coaching staff, we’re just very excited for him,” Tunstall coach Barry Shelton said. “Anytime a young man has the opportunity to be drafted in the Major League Baseball draft, it’s a special day. We wish Joe the best and after a couple of years at Tech, he’ll become a much better pitcher and be drafted much higher.”

Giannini, a 6-foot-4 right-hander, finished the season with a 3-2 record, recording 54 strikeouts in 35 innings and compiling an ERA of 1.78. He also added three home runs, eight doubles, four triples, 19 runs and 21 RBIs at the plate while being named VISAA Division 1 academic all-state.

“I was very proud of him. Obviously, I kind of wish he went earlier in the draft,” Hargrave coach Scott Roach said. “Cameron’s worked hard to get to where’s he at. “I’m honored to say I coached a kid who was drafted.”

-- Contact Sordelett at dsordelett@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7998.