Right-hander Billy Bullock (Balm, Fla.), left-hander Tony Davis (Cooper City, Fla.) and catcher Buddy Munroe (Miami, Fla.) recently signed professional baseball contracts with the Minnesota Twins and will forego their senior seasons at the University of Florida. In addition, three Gators who completed their eligibility also inked deals: outfielder Avery Barnes (High Springs, Fla.) (Colorado Rockies), righty Patrick Keating (Harrisburg, Ill.) (Kansas City Royals) and lefty Stephen Locke (Tampa, Fla.) (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim).

A second-round pick in the 2009 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft who was the 70th overall selection, Bullock made a team-high 34 appearances for second-year head coach Kevin O’Sullivan and was 3-3 with a 2.64 earned run average. The righty collected 11 saves, third in the Southeastern Conference, and tied for the fourth-most in a single-season by a Florida hurler.

Over 47.2 innings, Bullock registered 50 strikeouts, issued 22 walks and limited opponents to a .231 batting average. He was voted as one of the two relievers on the All-SEC team after collecting seven saves during conference activity. Bullock had a 1-2 league ledger with a 2.29 ERA in 15 appearances, with 22 K in 19.2 innings. The right-hander was the first Gator reliever to earn All-SEC since Connor Falkenbach in 2005 and has been assigned to the Elizabethton (Tenn.) Twins of the Appalachian League.

Davis was taken in the 12th round with the 372nd choice and was a perfect 5-0 and led the Gator pitching staff with a 2.25 ERA. He will join Bullock in suiting up for Elizabethton. Over 32 appearances, the southpaw limited foes to a .190 effort at the plate and notched 37 strikeouts in a career-high 44.0 innings. Davis earned his first win of the campaign in the Orange and Blue’s 5-4 victory over No. 17 Florida State on St. Patrick’s Day and defeated SEC East rivals Tennessee, Vanderbilt and South Carolina.

Munroe became the third Florida player chosen by the Twins in the 22nd round at number 672 and will begin with the Beloit (Wisc.) Snappers of the Midwest League. He started a team-high 44 games behind the plate this spring and batted .270 with 26 RBI, 23 runs, seven doubles and five homers. Munroe had a .275 average against league competition with 14 runs, 14 RBI, and five doubles, and eight of his 25 hits in league play went for extra bases. In UF’s sweep of Alabama, he went 5-for-10 (.500) with four runs, including a 3-for-4 effort with a career-high three runs in the opener.

An 11th-round pick of the Rockies, Barnes earned first-team All-SEC honors after picking up second-team kudos last year. He will begin his professional career with the Casper (Wyo.) Ghosts of the Pioneer League. In conference games, he led the league in batting average (.382), hits (50) and runs (40) and was the first UF outfielder to garner All-SEC in back-to-back campaigns since Ben Harrison was a second-team choice in both 2003 and 2004. Barnes belted a team-high six homers and was 8-for-11 on stolen-base attempts and also ranked third on the Gators with 19 RBI in the 30 league contests.

He tied freshman Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) for the team lead with a .364 batting average and paced Florida in hits (90), runs (76), stolen bases (18) and triples (six). Barnes rated second in the club in slugging percentage (.547), total bases (135) and sacrifice hits (six). In addition, he notched career highs in RBI (42) and homers (eight). Barnes’ 12 triples are third on the school’s all-time list.

Keating was chosen in the 20th round by the Royals with the 602nd pick following a final collegiate season in which he was 4-4 with a 5.12 ERA. He will start with the Idaho Falls Chukars of the Pioneer League. The righty made 22 appearances, including seven starts, and totaled 41 strikeouts in 58.0 innings. Keating achieved first-team All-South Region and first-team All-SEC in ’08, when he was 8-1 overall and a perfect 7-0 in league play.

Locke was taken by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim with the 681st choice in the 22nd round. He has been assigned to the Orem (Utah) Owlz of the Pioneer League, where he captured his professional debut on June 23 with five innings in which he allowed one earned run on three hits with four strikeouts. At Florida, the left-hander turned in a 5-2 ledger with a 4.32 ERA in a team-leading 66.2 innings, registered 48 K and issued 18 walks. He was a member of the NCAA Gainesville Regional All-Tournament Team after limiting No. 17 Miami (Fla.) to six singles and zero earned runs in a winner’s bracket contest on May 30.

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