MLB draft: Harriton pitcher Jack Kochanowicz goes in third round to Angels
Kochanowicz joins Penn Charter centerfielder Sammy Siani, who was selected 37th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday.
When Harriton’s Jack Kochanowicz heard his name called early on the second day of MLB’s first-year playoff draft, a sense of relief came over him, he said.
The hard-throwing 6-foot-6 right-hander was selected Tuesday in the third round by the Los Angeles Angels, the 92nd overall choice.
“It was a little bit of stress and I don’t think it has settled in yet,” Kochanowicz said in a phone interview about two hours after he was selected. “It was a little overwhelming at first, but it is awesome.”
Rounds 3 through 10 took place Tuesday. The draft concludes Wednesday with rounds 11-40.
Kochanowicz was the first local product drafted on the second day of the draft and the second from the area overall. On Monday, Penn Charter center fielder Sammy Siani was selected 37th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, a competitive balance pick after the first round.
The other player with area roots selected in the third round was Lehigh junior right-hander Levi Stoudt, a Perkiomen School graduate, who was picked 97th overall by the Seattle Mariners.
This past season, Kochanowicz went 6-0 with a 0.32 ERA and his fastball reached 96 mph.
He has a scholarship to play for the University of Virginia.
The recommended slot value for that pick is $637.600, according to MLB.com, but teams can offer above or below that number.
Kochanowicz said he has dreamed of being drafted since he was a youngster. His coach at Harriton, Scott Kurzinsky, said that when he met Kochanowicz, he thought this day was possible.
“When I first met him as an eighth-grader, [he was] long and lanky, and he continued to progress each year,” Kurzinsky said. “We had an assumption early on as a coaching staff this could be the first one in school history to be drafted.”
Stoudt was the 13th player in Lehigh history to be drafted. This past season, Stoudt went 3-4 with a 3.53 ERA in 11 appearances, including 10 starts. He struck out 69 in 63⅔ innings. The recommended slot value for the 97th selection is $599,100.
“Honestly, it is pretty crazy,” Stoudt said in a phone interview shortly after he was drafted. “It hasn’t hit me fully yet. There are so many emotions, and I am stoked to be able to be experiencing it with my family at home.”
Stoudt wasn’t surprised that Seattle drafted him. He worked out for the Mariners a few weeks ago at their Peoria, Ariz., spring training location.
“I got good vibes from them, and it was not shocking that the Mariners selected me,” he said. “I am just so excited."
Nationally, one of the familiar names was Glenallen Hill Jr., a California high school switch-hitting shortstop who was picked in the fourth round by Arizona. Hill is an Arizona State recruit.
His father was a 13-year major-leaguer who manages the Albuquerque Isotopes, the triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.