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PITTSBURG —
Chances are great that you will see at least one future Major League Baseball player this week in the Premier Baseball Junior Championship.
The odds are strong at each of the nine sites — Joe Becker Stadium and Wendell Redden Stadium in host city Joplin, JayCee Ballpark and Al Ortolani Field in Pittsburg, the Field of Dreams in Baxter Springs, Mickey Mantle Field in Commerce, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Baseball Field in Miami, Seneca High School and Crowder College in Neosho.
Major League teams chose 103 players with Premier Baseball experience alone in the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft, including three first-round picks, and past alums include Josh Beckett (Columbia Angels), Lance Berkman (Austin Slam), Jay Bruce (Houston Heat), Aaron Crow (Kansas City Sluggers), Jon Lester (Bayside Yankees), Matt Morris (Bayside Yankees), Hunter Pence (Fort Worth Cats), Albert Pujols (Kansas City Sluggers), Scott Rolen (LIDS Indiana Bulls), Huston Street (Austin Wings), Walt Weiss (Bayside Yankees) and Vernon Wells (DBAT Mustangs).
Last year's title game played at Joe Becker, for example, featured New York Yankees second round pick Austin Aune on the DBAT Mustangs McCabe and Toronto Blue Jays 16th round pick William DuPont, St. Louis Cardinals 22nd round pick Tate Matheny and Cleveland Indians 31st round pick Dan Holst on the Rawlings Prospects.
DBAT stands for The Dallas Baseball Academy of Texas (founded Nov. 27, 1998) and the Rawlings Prospects are based in Missouri.
Aune chose a $1 million signing bonus from the Yankees over a football career at Texas Christian University, one of the newest members of the Big 12 Conference. Aune signed with the Horned Frogs to play quarterback, a position he excelled at during high school.
"I've been playing baseball way longer than football," Aune said on newyork.yankees.mlb.com. "Football, I really started playing in eighth grade, and I turned out to be pretty good. I got an offer after my junior year from TCU. I got a dual-sport deal so I could play football and baseball, and it didn't get much better than that. At that time, I had no clue I was going to be drafted or anything. I accepted it, and it worked out (that) I got drafted."
DuPont recently signed his professional contract with the Blue Jays, choosing Toronto over Starkville and Mississippi State, a baseball program which featured Will Clark, Rafael Palmeiro and Bobby Thigpen in the mid-1980s.
Chances are great that you will see at least one future Major League Baseball player this week in the Premier Baseball Junior Championship.
The odds are strong at each of the nine sites — Joe Becker Stadium and Wendell Redden Stadium in host city Joplin, JayCee Ballpark and Al Ortolani Field in Pittsburg, the Field of Dreams in Baxter Springs, Mickey Mantle Field in Commerce, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Baseball Field in Miami, Seneca High School and Crowder College in Neosho.
Major League teams chose 103 players with Premier Baseball experience alone in the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft, including three first-round picks, and past alums include Josh Beckett (Columbia Angels), Lance Berkman (Austin Slam), Jay Bruce (Houston Heat), Aaron Crow (Kansas City Sluggers), Jon Lester (Bayside Yankees), Matt Morris (Bayside Yankees), Hunter Pence (Fort Worth Cats), Albert Pujols (Kansas City Sluggers), Scott Rolen (LIDS Indiana Bulls), Huston Street (Austin Wings), Walt Weiss (Bayside Yankees) and Vernon Wells (DBAT Mustangs).
Last year's title game played at Joe Becker, for example, featured New York Yankees second round pick Austin Aune on the DBAT Mustangs McCabe and Toronto Blue Jays 16th round pick William DuPont, St. Louis Cardinals 22nd round pick Tate Matheny and Cleveland Indians 31st round pick Dan Holst on the Rawlings Prospects.
DBAT stands for The Dallas Baseball Academy of Texas (founded Nov. 27, 1998) and the Rawlings Prospects are based in Missouri.
Aune chose a $1 million signing bonus from the Yankees over a football career at Texas Christian University, one of the newest members of the Big 12 Conference. Aune signed with the Horned Frogs to play quarterback, a position he excelled at during high school.
"I've been playing baseball way longer than football," Aune said on newyork.yankees.mlb.com. "Football, I really started playing in eighth grade, and I turned out to be pretty good. I got an offer after my junior year from TCU. I got a dual-sport deal so I could play football and baseball, and it didn't get much better than that. At that time, I had no clue I was going to be drafted or anything. I accepted it, and it worked out (that) I got drafted."
DuPont recently signed his professional contract with the Blue Jays, choosing Toronto over Starkville and Mississippi State, a baseball program which featured Will Clark, Rafael Palmeiro and Bobby Thigpen in the mid-1980s.
Matheny chose playing at Missouri State over signing with the Cardinals, who are managed by his father Mike Matheny.
The Crawford County Cubs, a team mostly comprised of younger Frontenac High School players, played the Nebraska Sluggers to a 10-6 loss Wednesday at Mickey Mantle Field. The Cubs led 6-3 in the fifth but one bad inning spelled their doom; the Cubs face the Fort Worth Cats White and the Indiana Bulls Black today at JayCee Ballpark, 12:30 and 3 p.m. starts.
The Cubs have Christian Sharp, Caleb Spangler, Colton Gilbert, Brett Macary, Bryce Burdette, Keaton Bolinger, Caleb Biancarelli, Jacob Teats, John Barrows, Ethan Powell, Jace Burdette, Tanner Edwards and Josh Book on their roster.
Of course, Pittsburg's no stranger to seeing high-caliber baseball players come through JayCee or Al Ortolani.
For example, not too long ago, Pittsburg High School pitcher Jordan Elliott struck out Gardner-Edgerton phenom Bubba Starling twice during Starling's final high school game with super agent Scott Boras and throngs of media in attendance at JayCee. The Kansas City Royals drafted Starling with the fifth-overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft. Starling made stops in Pittsburg his senior year for football, basketball and baseball.
"He's a really good player and it was a good experience going up against him," Elliott said. "I had a little bit of success. I'll always remember that."
Team USA played exhibition games in 2003 and 2004 at JayCee Ballpark — the 2003 Junior National team featured Billy Butler (Kansas City Royals) and the 2004 trials team included Andrew McCutchen (Pittsburgh Pirates) and Buster Posey (San Francisco Giants). McCutchen hit a three-run homer against the Southeast Kansas All-Stars.
The Premier Baseball Junior Championship wraps up Sunday afternoon with the championship game at Joe Becker Stadium and the consolation games at JayCee Ballpark.
Premier Baseball Players Selected in the 2012 MLB Draft
First Round
1. Ty Hensley, New York Yankees (Midwest Nationals)
2. Tyler Naquin, Cleveland Indians (Houston Heat/Houston Raiders)
3. Steve Bean, St. Louis Cardinals (DBAT Mustangs)
Compensatory A
4. Barrett Barnes, Pittsburgh Pirates (Houston Heat)
Second Round
5. Mason Melotakis, Minnesota Twins (Arlington A's)
6. Nolan Sanburn, Oakland A's (LIDS Indiana Bulls)
7. Teddy Stankiewicz, New York Mets (DBAT Mustangs)
8. Spencer Edwards, Tampa Bay Rays (DBAT Mustangs)
9. Austin Aune, New York Yankees (DBAT Mustangs)
10. Jake Thompson, Detroit Tigers (DBAT Mustangs)
Third Round
11. Adam Walker, Minnesota Twins (Hitters Baseball)
12. Brady Rogers, Houston Astros (Columbia Angels)
Fourth Round
13. Chris Serritella, Philadelphia Phillies (Hitters Baseball)
14. Alex Yarbrough, Los Angeles Angels (DBAT Mustangs)
15. Chuck Taylor, Arizona Diamondbacks (DBAT Mustangs)
Fifth Round
16. Ross Stripling, Los Angeles Dodgers (Arlington A's)
17. Anthony Prieto, Chicago Cubs (ABA)
18. Ty Blach, San Francisco Giants (Bayside Yankees)
19. Colin Poche, Baltimore Orioles (DBAT Mustangs)
20. Max Muncy, Oakland Athletics (DBAT Mustangs)
21. Preston Beck, Texas Rangers (DBAT Mustangs)
Sixth Round
22. Kyle Hansen, Chicago White Sox (Bayside Yankees)
23. Jordan John, Detroit Tigers (South Texas Sliders)
Seventh Round
24. Hoby Milner, Philadelphia Phillies (Arlington A's)
Eighth Round
25. Cameron Perkins, Philadelphia Phillies (LIDS Indiana Bulls)
Ninth Round
26. Shilo McCall, San Francisco Giants (ABA)
27. L.J. Mazzilli, Minnesota Twins (Bayside Yankees)
28. Micah Johnson, Chicago White Sox (LIDS Indiana Bulls)
10th Round
29. Anthony Banda, Milwaukee Brewers (Houston Raiders)
30. Sean Bierman, Tampa Bay Rays (Bayside Yankees)
11th Round
31. Logan Vick, Chicago Cubs (South Texas Sliders)
32. Nolan Becker, Cincinnati Reds (Bayside Yankees)
33. Jeremy Rathjen, Los Angeles Dodgers (Kyle Chapman)
12th Round
34. Dalton Friend, Pittsburgh Pirates (Midwest Nationals)
35. Eric Semmelhack, Milwaukee Brewers (Hitters Baseball)
13th Round
36. Sam Stafford, Texas Rangers (Houston Heat)
37. Kyle Von Tungeln, Colorado Rockies (Kyle Chapman)
14th Round
38. Andrew Benak, New York Yankees (Houston Heat)
39. Matt Reckling, Los Angeles Dodgers (Houston Heat)
40. Austin House, Oakland Athletics (ABA)
41. Lucas Moran, Cincinnati Reds (Houston Raiders)
15th Round
42. Dayton Dawe, New York Yankees (Ontario Terriers)
43. Reid Scoggins, Los Angeles Angels (DBAT Mustangs)
16th Round
44. William DuPont, Toronto Blue Jays (Rawlings Prospects)
45. Kody Eaves, Los Angeles Angels (Houston Heat)
46. Austin Fairchild, Kansas City Royals (Houston Heat)
47. Josh Turley, Detroit Tigers (DBAT Mustangs)
18th Round
48. Louis Head, Cleveland Indians (Houston Heat)
49. Ryan Dalton, Los Angeles Angels (Kyle Chapman)
50. Jeremy Schaffer, St. Louis Cardinals (Kyle Chapman)
19th Round
51. Tim Carver, Philadelphia Phillies (Midwest Nationals)
52. Iseha Conklin, Boston Red Sox (ABA)
53. Cody Gunter, Miami Marlins (DBAT Mustangs)
20th Round
54. Jordan Hillyer, Miami Marlins (Bayside Yankees)
55. Zach Voight, Chicago White Sox (Fort Worth Cats)
56. Michael Garza, Milwaukee Brewers (South Texas Sliders)
21st Round
57. Avain Rachal, Cincinnati Reds (South Texas Sliders)
58. Ben Turner, San Francisco Giants (Rawlings Prospects)
59. Colton Turner, Toronto Blue Jays (Fort Worth Cats)
22nd Round
60. Holden Helmink, Arizona Diamondbacks (Houston Raiders)
61. Taylor Wall, Milwaukee Brewers (Kyle Chapman)
62. Kevin McCanna, San Diego Padres (Houston Heat)
63. Shae Simmons, Atlanta Braves (Rawlings Prospects)
64. Tate Matheny, St. Louis Cardinals (Rawlings Prospects)
23rd Round
65. Casey Selsor, Washington Nationals (South Texas Sliders)
66. Kevin Allen, Kansas City Royals (Houston Heat)
67. Travis Ballew, Houston Astros (DBAT Mustangs)
68. Kale Kiser, Chicago White Sox (DBAT Mustangs)
24th Round
69. Matt Juengel, Miami Marlins (Houston Heat)
70. Austin Dicharry, Washington Nationals (Houston Heat)
71. Jose Favela, Minnesota Twins (ABA)
25th Round
72. Leon Byrd, New York Mets (Kyle Chapman)
26th Round
73. Jasvir Rakkar, Chicago Cubs (Ontario Terriers)
27th Round
74. Justin Jackson, Miami Marlins (Houston Heat)
75. Tyler Duffie, Milwaukee Brewers (Houston Heat)
76. Quinn Carpenter, Boston Red Sox (Bayside Yankees)
77. Wade Hinkler, Los Angeles Angels (ABA)
78. Jacob Johansen, Pittsburgh Pirates (DBAT Mustangs)
28th Round
79. Mo Wiley, Cincinnati Reds (Kyle Chapman)
29th Round
80. Alex Bregman, Boston Red Sox (ABA)
81. Eric Charles, San Diego Padres (LIDS Indiana Bulls)
82. Jake Post, Pittsburgh Pirates (LIDS Indiana Bulls)
83. Taylor Massey, Oakland Athletics (Fort Worth Cats)
84. Jason Coats, Chicago White Sox (DBAT Mustangs)
85. Randall Fant, Cleveland Indians (DBAT Mustangs)
30th Round
86. Trent Blank, Colorado Rockies (Rawlings Prospects)
87. Chase McDowell, Pittsburgh Pirates (Houston Heat)
88. John Neely, Houston Astros (Columbia Angels)
89. Ory Kalenkosky, Atlanta Braves (South Texas Sliders)
31st Round
90. Dan Holst, Cleveland Indians (Rawlings Prospects)
91. Conner Harrell, Detroit Tigers (Houston Heat)
92. M.P. Cokinos, Houston Astros (Houston Heat)
93. Jack Moffit, Pittsburgh Pirates (DBAT Mustangs)
32nd Round
94. Hunter Wood, Boston Red Sox (DBAT Mustangs)
33rd Round
95. Kaleb Merck, Minnesota Twins (DBAT Mustangs)
37th Round
96. Clayton Crum, Chicago Cubs (Houston Heat)
97. Ben Distefano, New York Mets (Houston Heat)
98. Tyler Watson, Washington Nationals (DBAT Mustangs)
39th Round
99. Grayson Long, Seattle Mariners (Houston Heat)
100. Mitchell Traver, Houston Astros (Houston Heat)
101. Jocob Stone, Cincinnati Reds (Fort Worth Cats)
102. Cullen O'Dwyer, Atlanta Braves (ABA)
40th Round
103. Joe Shaw, Houston Astros (DBAT Mustangs)
