IU baseball players Johnson and Martin selected in 2012 MLB draft

After playing college baseball in Btown, Micah Johnson and Chad Martin have a chance to one day play professionally in the Windy City. The IU players were selected Tuesday night in the 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by Chicago’s crosstown baseball rivals.

The Chicago White Sox used their ninth round pick (291st overall) on Johnson, a junior
second baseman. 

“This is a step in my overall dreams to play in the Major Leagues,” Johnson said.

After competing in the Cape Cod League  last summer, Johnson felt soreness in his right elbow to start his junior campaign and had surgery March 7, causing him to miss nearly two months of the regular season.

He appeared in just 24 games in 2012, hitting .212 with one home run and 10 RBI. He was 7-for-9 in stolen bases and scored 14 runs.

During his freshman season in 2010, Johnson hit .312  and had his best year from a power standpoint, slugging 11 home runs and driving in 42 . He struggled at third base, though, posting a .909 fielding percentage and committing a career-high
17 errors.

In 2011, Johnson moved to second, where he drastically improved his defense. He raised his fielding percentage to .954, 45 points higher than his 2010 percentage. He also committed five fewer errors than during the previous season.

Offensively, Johnson raised his batting average by 23 points to .335, while his on-base percentage rose to .402 from .366 in 2010. He was also 19-of-22 in stolen bases, earning him a spot on the All-Big Ten Second Team.

An Indianapolis native and Park Tudor High School graduate,  Johnson was picked as a Third Team preseason All-American for 2012.

During his three seasons at IU, he combined for a .308 batting average, 15 home runs, 86 RBI and 32 stolen bases in 40 attempts in 133 games.

“I want to thank everyone all my friends especially family mom and dad sisters girlfriend dog coaches everyone!!,” Johnson said via Twitter.

Chad Martin was taken by the north-side Chicago Cubs 23 picks after Johnson became a south-sider. The Cubs used their 10th-round pick (314th overall) on the senior right-hander.

After spending his freshman and sophomore seasons at Vincennes University,
Martin transferred to IU.

“I worked my tail off in junior college and (IU) Coach (Ty) Neal came to see me, invited me up to Bloomington,” Martin said. “I absolutely loved the campus, it was unbelievable. The coaches were not telling me what I wanted to hear, they were
being realistic.”

While at IU, Martin had a record of 4-8 with a 4.08 ERA. He pitched in 139 innings through 36 appearances, 17 of which were starts.

“His arm worked well, his fastball was low-to-mid 90s and the makings of a breaking ball,” said Stan Zielinski, area scout from the Chicago Cubs. “He is a big, strong kid that throws hard with a good delivery, and you have to take a chance on a kid like that.”