Ten athletes with local ties saw their names called in Major League Baseball’s First-Year Player Draft this past week. Three of those players are former WPIAL standouts who went off to college, three hail from the University of Pittsburgh, three came from the PSAC West and one was drafted right out of high school from Western Pennsylvania.
Ian Happ leads the list of those local stars drafted this past week after he was chosen ninth overall by the Chicago Cubs. A standout from Mt. Lebanon, Happ was known as one of the best pure hitters in this year’s draft, and the Cubs believe his skills rival that of another young slugger on their squad, Kris Bryant. Happ, who played his college ball at Cincinnati, hit .369 last year while hitting 14 home runs and driving in 44 runs for the Bearcats.
The power-hitting outfielder shared his thoughts on the selection via Twitter after the Cubs chose him.
It’s been a special day. Proud to be a @Cubs #CubsFamily #WeAreGood https://t.co/hPeN1eqHNb
— Ian Happ (@ihapp_1) June 9, 2015
Happ’s hitting mentor is none other than Pittsburgh native, Sean Casey. Happ said that Casey has helped him both physically and mentally with his approach at the plate.
Happ has played both the outfield and middle infield positions, and the Cubs are keeping their options open with him, according to reports.
“Certainly he’s a versatile player and athletic,” the Cubs’ top scout, Jason McLeod, told the Chicago Sun-Times. “We’re not going to put any limitations right now on where he will play. We’re looking forward to getting him in the organization and getting his professional career started, and we’ll let that play out where he plays defensively.”
Going down the list, here’s other local players who were drafted this past week:
- Ryan Uhl, 1B (IUP) – Selected in the 7th round (215 overall) by the Seattle Mariners; batted .415 with 29 HRs, 74 RBIs with an OPS (on-base percentage/slugging) of 1.621.
- Max McDowell, C (Norwin High School, UCONN) – Selected in the 13th round (391 overall) by the Milwaukee Brewers; batted .286 with 7 HRs, 39 RBIs this year; threw out 19 would-be base-stealers.
- Joey Havrilak, OF (Trinity High School, Akron) – Selected in the 18th round (550 overall) by the Detroit Tigers; batted .347 with 5 HRs, 34 RBIs this year.
- Aaron Cox, P/INF (Gannon) – Selected in the 19th round (585 overall) by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim; batted .316 with 8 HRs, 32 RBIs; pitching record of 5-5 with a 3.74 ERA and 81 strikeouts.
- Marc Berube, RHP (Pitt) – Selected in the 28th round (848 overall) by the Oakland Athletics; pitching record of 2-7 with 5.10 ERA and 37 strikeouts.
- Hobie Harris, RHP (Pitt) – Selected in the 31st round (933 overall) by the New York Yankees; pitching record of 3-3 with 4.96 ERA and 44 strikeouts.
- Rich Condeelis, RHP (Pitt) – Selected in the 36th round (1,070 overall) by the Minnesota Twins; pitched in 19 games as reliever with 28 strikeouts and 2 saves.
- Jack Graham, INF (Slippery Rock) – Selected in the 38th round (1,153 overall) by the Baltimore Orioles; batted .222 with 6 hits and 2 RBIs.
- Dominic DeRenzo, C (Central Catholic High School – Selected in the 40th round (1,193 overall) by the Chicago Cubs; batted .469 with 3 HRs, 15 RBIs; led team to state championship.
No contracts for these players have yet to be announced, but DeRenzo, who is committed to Oklahoma, is likely to continue his path to college rather than the pros, according to many reports.
Draft picks have until July 17 to sign their deals with their new teams.
Photo Credit: Cincinnati.com
