Savino, Neeck taken on second day of MLB Draft

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Left-handed pitchers Nate Savino and Brandon Neeck were both selected on the second day of the 2022 MLB Draft. Savino was taken in the third round (82nd overall) by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Los Angeles Dodgers picked Neeck in the ninth round (285th overall).

In 19 seasons under head coach Brian O’Connor, UVA has produced 92 MLB Draft picks. Since the inception of the draft a total of 141 Cavaliers have been selected. Virginia has had a player taken in the first five rounds in 17 of the last 19 seasons.

Savino, a native of Sterling, Va., put forth his best season as a Cavalier in 2022. The southpaw made a team-best 15 starts and sported a 3.69 ERA, the 11th-lowest in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Savino struck out 79 batters in 78 innings pitched this season, while walking 32. He was named to the USA Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List after starting the season 4-0 with a 2.06 ERA.

He pitched UVA to its first ACC win of the 2022 season, a complete game shutout on the road at Duke on March 11. The performance earned him ACC Player of the Week honors and was one of two nine-inning complete game shutouts thrown by an ACC pitcher this season. His final start of the year came in an NCAA Tournament elimination game against Coastal Carolina where he produced his fourth quality start. He pitched 6.1 innings and did not allow an earned run while striking out four.

For his career, Savino logged 143.1 innings and struck out 123 batters in 35 total appearances.

Primarily a reliever for the Cavaliers over his four years in Charlottesville, Neeck was one of UVA’s top backend bullpen arms. His most notable performance as a Cavaliers came in the 2021 NCAA Columbia Regional where he struck out a UVA postseason record 16 batters over 5.2 innings pitched against top-seeded Old Dominion. It was part of a combined 24-strikeout performance by Neeck and starter Griff McGarry, the third most ever in a nine-inning NCAA game and most by any team since 1994.

Neeck was UVA’s opening day starter in 2022 and won two of his first three games before transitioning to the team’s closer role. Out of the bullpen he posted a 2.45 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 18.1 innings pitched. He recorded three saves, all in ACC play (North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Clemson) and all required five or more outs.

Neeck had 101 strikeouts in 67.2 career innings pitched in three seasons for the Cavaliers.

The 2022 MLB Draft concludes Wednesday with rounds 10-20 beginning at 2 p.m. EST on MLB.com.