85 NECBL ALUMNI Selected in Major League Draft
By Rich Rossiter and Don Leypoldt
85 New England Collegiate Baseball League alumni were selected in the June 4th-6th Major League Baseball Draft. Stanford RHP Mark Appel, a 2010 Newport Gull, led the alumni when the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him eighth overall. The Boston Red Sox selected Appel’s Gull teammate, Monmouth RHP Pat Light, in the supplemental first round. Appel and Light became the seventh and eighth NECBL products to be chosen in the first round within the last five years.
Three additional alumni- pitchers Newport’s Branden Kline and Keene’s Alex Wood, and Keene left fielder Jeremy Baltz- were selected in the second round. 14 total alumni were selected in the first five rounds of the Draft.
The Holyoke Blue Sox led all NECBL organizations with 13 alumni drafted. Here is a breakdown of conscriptions by NECBL team. Numbers include players drafted who suited up for the organization prior to the team’s current location. The figures add up to greater than 85 since several players suited up for two teams:
Holyoke Blue Sox 13
Newport Gulls 12
Danbury Westerners 11
Sanford Mainers 9
Keene Swamp Bats 8
Laconia Muskrats 8
Vermont Mountaineers 7
New Bedford Bay Sox 7
Mystic Schooners 6
North Adams SteepleCats 3
Lowell All-Americans 3*
North Shore Navigators 3*
* No longer in the NECBL
The Arizona Diamondbacks, Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels each selected five alumni. 26 of the 30 Major League teams drafted at least two alumni; every organization except for the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays conscripted at least one alumnus.
Locally, the Boston Red Sox selected three players: Light, Binghamton RHP Mike Augliera (Sanford and Danbury) in the fifth round, and Amherst OF Kevin Heller (Manchester Silkworms) in the 40th and final round.
Pitchers made up the majority of picks. 32 right handers and 13 southpaws were selected. Major League Baseball drafted 18 infielders, 13 outfielders and 9 catchers.
The volume of alumni drafted validates the NECBL as being of the best college summer leagues in the country. The complete draft list can be downloaded from a link on the NECBL home page.
