A big day for Catholic League and Penn Charter alums in the MLB draft
Pitt's Dan Hammer of Father Judge and JMU's Dan Goggin of Bonner-Prendergast were the highest two local players drafted on the third and final day.
The third and final day of the MLB first-year player draft was a good time for Penn Charter and Philadelphia Catholic League alums.
Penn Charter, which had current senior center fielder Sammy Siani drafted 37th overall as a competitive balance pick after the first round by the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday, had two former Quakers selected on Wednesday, when rounds 11-40 took place.
On Wednesday, Tulane sophomore left-hander Brendan Cellucci was selected with the final pick of the 12th round by the Boston Red Sox. (A sophomore from a four-year college is eligible for the draft if he turns 21 within 45 days of the draft.)
In the 34th round, Cellucci’s former high school teammate, sophomore right-hander Joey Lancellotti of North Carolina was selected in the 34th round by the New York Yankees.
“Three Penn Charter kids drafted in one draft is pretty cool,” Cellucci said in a phone interview.
Cellucci said he will pitch in the Cape Cod League for a few weeks.
“Before the signing period ends, the Red Sox said they will make me an offer,” he said.
The deadline for drafted players to sign this year is July 12 at 5 p.m.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Cellucci was 2-3 with a 5.30 ERA and three saves. In 27 appearances covering 42 innings, he struck out 46 and walked 21.
Lancellotti, is 6-2 with three saves and a 2.08 ERA in 25 appearances for a North Carolina team that will host an NCAA super regional this weekend.
“It shows what a great program there is at Penn Charter,” Lancellotti said by phone.
Two former Philadelphia Catholic League pitchers were among the higher selected area players on Wednesday.
Pitt right-hander Dan Hammer of Father Judge was selected just after Cellucci as the first pick of the 13th round by the Baltimore Orioles.
James Madison right-hander Dan Goggin, a Bonner-Prendergast graduate, went in the 17th round to the New York Mets.
“It was such a huge relief to be picked and such an honor to be picked by the Baltimore Orioles,” Hammer said in a phone interview. “It is such a great moment for me and my family.”
This season Hammer appeared in 17 games for the Panthers, making 13 starts. He was 3-8 with a 6.55 ERA. In 66 innings he struck out 80 and walked 37. He said his fastball touched 95 mph.
Goggin, who spent his first two years at Cumberland County Community College, pitched in relief this season at James Madison.
He was 0-2 with a 6.20 ERA this season, but struck out 27 and walked seven in 24 2/3 innings.
“I am just really excited for the opportunity and happy to get a shot,” Goggin said by phone.
Malvern Prep senior outfielder Chris Newell, the 96th-ranked player by MLB.com, wasn’t selected until the 37th round by the St. Louis Cardinals.
“Before the draft we set the money pretty high of what we are asking for,” Newell said Wednesday night.
He added that once he didn’t get drafted in the first few rounds, he knew he was going to attend Virginia. Newell insists he will attend college even if the Cardinals could conceivably offer him a bonus well above his draft slot.
Duke junior left-hander Adam Laskey of Haddon Heights was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 19th round.
After a big summer competing in the Cape Cod League, Laskey was seen as a potential first-day draft choice, but he was limited to six games this season due to shoulder soreness.
He said he is rehabbing and was told that physical therapy should fix the problem.
“The season hasn’t gone like I would have liked it to go, but I am kind of relieved to be picked by such a great organization,” said Laskey, who was picked in the 31st round by the San Francisco Giants out of high school in 2016.
Penn catcher Matt O’Neill was selected by the Mets in the 20th round. O’Neill was a unanimous first-team all-Ivy League performer. He led the Ivy League with a .405 batting average and was fifth in the nation with a .527 on-base percentage.
He had a predraft workout with the Mets at their Port St. Lucie, Fla., spring training facility. A senior who earned his degree in finance, O’Neill is ready to begin his pro career.
Cumberland County College, which won the NCAA Division III title, had two right-handers drafted by the Cincinnati Reds – Jose Rodriguez in the 20th round and Michael Miles in the 22nd.
Among the other area players drafted: Virginia OF Cameron Simmons of Spring-Ford (round 20, Chicago White Sox), (Rowan College at Gloucester County RHPs Matthew Stil (21, KC) and Nicholas Yoder (34, Texas), Rowan CF Matthew Woods (29, LA Angels), Rowan RHP Danny Serreino (32, Cincinnati), Lehigh RHP Jayson Reynolds of Timber Creek High (32, San Diego), Lenape C Cade Hunter (35, Colorado), Coastal Carolina C Kyle Skeels of Neshaminy (36, St. Louis) and St. Augustine Prep RHP Jayson Hoopes (36, Chicago Cubs).