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82 WCLers Picked in 2017 MLB Draft

82 current and former WCL players were selected in the 2017 MLB draft held June 12-14.

Former Wenatchee AppleSox Keston Hiura of UC Irvine was the 9th overall pick in the first round, the highest WCL alum selection ever in the MLB June draft. Over the summer of 2015, Hiura tore apart WCL pitching for Wenatchee following his freshman season at UC Irvine hitting .356 with 21 doubles, 6 triples, 6 homers and 42 RBIs to earn first-team all-WCL honors.

Five WCL alums were picked in the first two rounds including Hiura, Oregon’s David Peterson, Oregon State’s Drew Rasmussen, UCLA’s Griffin Canning and Cal Poly’s Spencer Howard.

Former Medford Rogue southpaw David Peterson, the 20th overall pick, went to the New York Mets in the first round. Peterson pitched with the Rogues in 2014, getting his first taste of college baseball in the WCL. The lefty went 5-1 with a 3.75 ERA over 10 appearances, 8 starts and 48 innings pitched for Medford.

In total, three former Wenatchee AppleSox were picked in the first two rounds, as Drew Rasmussen of #1-ranked and Omaha Bound Oregon State went #31 overall as the first pick in the CBA Round A by Tampa Bay. Rasmussen pitched for the Sox in the summer of 2014 as he went 3-2 with a 5.16 ERA over 10 appearances, 9 starts and 45.1 innings pitched. His teammate that summer – Griffin Canning of UCLA – was selected 47th overall in the 2nd round by the Los Angeles Angels. Canning was dominant for the Sox striking out 27 over 22.1 innings pitched while walking only 3 and posting a 1.61 ERA.

Former Bellingham Bells right-hander Spencer Howard of Cal Poly went 45th overall to the Philadelphia Phillies in the second round. Howard pitched two summers with the Bells (2015 and 2016). Over two years, overall, he went 3-1 with a 2.11 ERA over 25 appearances and 55.1 innings pitched while striking out 64 and walking only 12.

21 WCLers were selected in the first 10 rounds.

Walla Walla was the most represented WCL member with 11 alums or current players drafted. Three clubs had 10 players picked – defending champion Corvallis; Victoria, who led the league last season in regular season wins with 40; and Kelowna, who appeared in the 2015 WCL Championship Series.

WCLers drafted:

Round / Player / School / WCL Club / MLB Org

– 1st round, Keston Hiura, UC Irvine, Wenatchee, Milwaukee Brewers

– 1st round, David Peterson, Oregon, Medford, New York Mets

– CB round A, Drew Rasmussen, Oregon State, Wenatchee, Tampa Bay Rays

– 2nd round, Spencer Howard, Cal Poly, Bellingham, Philadelphia Phillies

– 2nd round, Griffin Canning, UCLA, Wenatchee, Los Angeles Angels

– 3rd round, K.J. Harrison, Oregon State, Corvallis, Milwaukee Brewers

– 3rd round, Wyatt Mills, Gonzaga, Kelowna/Yakima Valley, Seattle Mariners

– 3rd round, Joey Morgan, Washington, Medford, Detroit Tigers

– 4th round, Jake Thompson, Oregon State, Bend, Boston Red Sox

– 5th round, Ryan Lillie, UC Riverside, Yakima Valley, Miami Marlins

– 5th round, David Banuelos, Long Beach State, Bellingham, Seattle Mariners

– 7th round, Ryley Widell, Central Arizona College, Corvallis, Minnesota Twins

– 7th round, Connor O’Neil, Cal State Northridge, Walla Walla, New York Mets

– 7th round, Riley O’Brien, College of Idaho, Kelowna, Tampa Bay Rays

– 8th round, Holden Capps, Central Oklahoma, Kitsap, Kansas City Royals

– 8th round, Eli Morgan, Gonzaga, Yakima Valley, Cleveland Indians

– 9th round, Mark Contreras, UC Riverside, Walla Walla, Minnesota Twins

– 9th round, Dallas Carroll, Utah, Bellingham, Milwaukee Brewers

– 9th round, Sean Bouchard, UCLA, Walla Walla, Colorado Rockies

– 9th round, Tanner Nishioka, Pomona-Pitzer College, Wenatchee, Boston Red Sox

– 10th round, Jack Meggs, Washington, Bellingham, Oakland A’s

– 12th round, Andrew Summerville, Stanford, Bellingham, St. Louis Cardinals

– 12th round, Andre Jackson, Utah, Kelowna, Los Angeles Dodgers

– 14th round, Derek Molina, Merced College, Yakima Valley, Minnesota Twins

– 15th round, Austin Bush, UC Santa Barbara, Kitsap, Atlanta Braves

– 15th round, Alex Garcia, UC Santa Barbara, Victoria, Philadelphia Phillies

– 15th round, Tyler Frost, Gonzaga, Wenatchee, Chicago White Sox

– 16th round, Jake Scudder, Kansas State, Kitsap, Washington Nationals

– 17th round, Andrew Cosgrove, North Carolina State, Corvallis, Minnesota Twins

– 17th round, Jeff Bohling, Gonzaga, Kelowna/Kitsap, Colorado Rockies

– 17th round, Brac Warren, Oregon, Klamath Falls, UC Santa Barbara, San Francisco Giants

– 18th round, Kevin Watson, Jr., Oregon State, Corvallis, Arizona Diamondbacks

– 18th round, Damon Jones, Washington State, Cowlitz, Philadelphia Phillies

– 18th round, Max Gamboa, Pepperdine, Walla Walla, Los Angeles Dodgers

– 19th round, Roman Garcia, San Diego, Corvallis, Houston Astros

– 19th round, Josh Nashed, San Jose State, Yakima Valley, Cleveland Indians

– 20th round, Dominic Miroglio, San Francisco, Walla Walla, Arizona Diamondbacks

– 20th round, Scott Burke, UCLA, Klamath Falls, Baltimore Orioles

– 21st round, Colton Waltner, San Diego, Kelowna, Minnesota Twins

– 21st round, Jake Dahlberg, Illinois-Chicago, Cowlitz, St. Louis Cardinals

– 21st round, Tyler Friis, Indiana State, Yakima Valley, Cleveland Indians

– 21st round, Leif Strom, Pierce College, Kelowna, Washington Nationals

– 22nd round, Josh Mitchell, Pittsburgh, Victoria, Kansas City Royals

– 22nd round, Janson Junk, Seattle, Bend, New York Yankees

– 22nd round, Kevin Hamann, L-C State, Bend, St. Louis Cardinals

– 22nd round, Hunter Haworth, Chico State, Bellingham, Boston Red Sox

– 23rd round, Troy Conyers, San Diego, Kelowna, Atlanta Braves

– 23rd round, Mikey Duarte, UC Irvine, Walla Walla, Chicago White Sox

– 23rd round, Shane Matheny, Washington State, Walla Walla, San Francisco Giants

– 23rd round, Brady Miller, Western Oregon, Kelowna, Chicago Cubs

– 24th round, Slater Lee, Cal Poly, Corvallis, Oakland A’s

– 24th round, Nick Valaika, UCLA, Wenatchee, Pittsburgh Pirates

– 24th round, Jason Willow, Lambrick Park Secondary School, Victoria, Baltimore Orioles

– 24th round, Tim Richards, Cal State Fullerton, Victoria, Washington Nationals

– 26th round, Austin Crowson, Lane CC, Corvallis, New York Yankees

– 26th round, Cameron Bishop, UC Irvine, Corvallis, Baltimore Orioles

– 27th round, Clay Fisher, UC Santa Barbara, Corvallis, Cincinnati Reds

– 27th round, JJ Muno, UC Santa Barbara, Kelowna, Chicago White Sox

– 27th round, Darius Vines, Oxnard College, Walla Walla, Chicago Cubs

– 28th round, Joe Record, UC Santa Barbara, Victoria, Minnesota Twins

– 28th round, Justin Bridgman, Nevada, Klamath Falls, Tampa Bay Rays

– 28th round, Brett Stephens, UCLA, Wenatchee, Colorado Rockies

– 29th round, Tarik Skubal, Seattle, Kitsap, Arizona Diamondbacks

– 30th round, Matt Kroon, Central Arizona College, Bend, Philadelphia Phillies

– 30th round, Alex Fagalde, UC Riverside, Victoria, St. Louis Cardinals

– 30th round, Sean Watkins, Cal State-LA, Victoria, San Francisco Giants

– 30th round, Zach Draper, College of Idaho, Yakima Valley, Cleveland Indians

– 30th round, Austin Guiber, Fresno State, Victoria, Washington Nationals

– 31st round, Danny Mayer, Univ. of the Pacific, Medford, Philadelphia Phillies

– 31st round, Hunter Mercado-Hood, San Diego, Victoria/Wenatchee, Los Angeles Dodgers

– 32nd round, Michael Bono, Santa Clara, Walla Walla, Cincinnati Reds

– 32nd round, Seaver Whalen, Lewis-Clark State, Cowlitz, Tampa Bay Rays

– 32nd round, Moises Ceja, UCLA, Bellingham, Colorado Rockies

– 33rd round, J.J. Robinson, Lewis-Clark State, Walla Walla, Minnesota Twins

– 33rd round, Chris Castellanos, Stanford, Cowlitz, Seattle Mariners

– 33rd round, Taylor Bryant, CSU Fullerton, Cowlitz, St. Louis Cardinals

– 34th round, Jack Klein, Stanford, Bellingham, Kansas City Royals

– 35th round, Colby Nealy, Washington State, Wenatchee/Kelowna, Los Angeles Dodgers

– 36th round, Rio Gomez, Arizona, Bend, Boston Red Sox

– 39th round, Haydn King, San Francisco, Walla Walla, Oakland A’s

– 39th round, Mike Gretler, Oregon State, Victoria, Pittsburgh Pirates

– 40th round, Chad Stevens, Portland, Corvallis, Seattle Mariners

ABOUT THE WEST COAST LEAGUE

The West Coast League is the premier summer collegiate baseball league west of the Mississippi. The 13-year-old, 11-team, professionally operated wood-bat league located in the beautiful Pacific Northwest features pro prospects from major conferences across the nation and an unparalleled history out west of great fan and player experiences in addition to the best summer weather in North America. In 2016, 88 players with WCL experience were selected in the MLB June draft, and more than 230 WCL alums appeared in affiliated professional baseball including 28 in the major leagues, such as 2015 home-run leader Chris Davis (Baltimore), 2015 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up Matt Duffy (Tampa Bay) and rising star pitchers Matt Andriese (Tampa Bay), Matt Boyd (Detroit) and James Paxton (Seattle). Overall member attendance was 379,611 this past season.