He didn't hear his name called on the first night of the Major League Baseball Draft, but FSU junior ace CJ Van Eyk didn't have to wait long at all on Day 2.
The Seminoles' star right-hander was drafted early in the second round, the 42nd player overall, by the Toronto Blue Jays.
He was the first Seminole selected in the 2020 MLB Draft, which has been shortened to just five rounds this season.
Junior left-hander Shane Drohan was then selected in the fifth round (148th overall) by the Boston Red Sox. The two Seminoles' starting pithers were the only two FSU players who were taken in the five-round draft.
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ORIGINAL STORY
If Florida State junior ace CJ Van Eyk is selected tonight in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft, he would become the Seminoles' first player to be taken that high in five years.
Outfielder DJ Stewart was selected by the Baltimore Orioles with the 25th pick in 2015, and pitcher Luke Weaver was selected in the first round by the St. Louis Cardinals one year earlier.
That current drought of first-rounders is FSU's longest in three decades, since Eduardo Perez snapped a similar streak in 1991.
But while some mock drafts have had Van Eyk going that high, it's far from a guarantee.
According to the most recent MLB.com player rankings, Van Eyk checks in as the No. 39 prospect overall, which would put him at the very beginning of the second round. At least one mock draft by The Athletic had Van Eyk going in the first round to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Van Eyk, who was drafted in the 19th round coming out of high school, enjoyed success almost immediately at the college level.
As a freshman, he went 7-0 with a 2.86 earned-run average. One year later, he went 10-4 and earned third-team All-ACC honors. Then his junior year was cut short after just a few starts because of the coronavirus pandemic. He went 1-1 with a 1.31 ERA in four appearances.
Because only five rounds will be held in this year's draft, the Seminoles might only have a couple of players selected -- with left-handed pitcher Shane Drohan being the next likely pick.
FSU signee Carson Montgomery, a right-handed pitcher from Windermere, Fla., also could go in the opening rounds.
If players aren't selected in the first five rounds, the maximum signing bonus they can receive is $20,000, which means most of the nation's top high school prospects will likely attend college in 2020-21.
Only the first round of the draft will be held tonight, with coverage taking place on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET. The final four rounds will be held on Thursday, beginning at 5 p.m. on ESPN2.
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