Three local players were selected Monday on the second day of the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft.
Mike Kennedy, a left-handed pitcher who graduated from Troy High School in June; Luke Gold, an infielder from Ballston Spa and Boston College; and Dale Stanavich, a left-handed pitcher from Amsterdam and Rutgers, were drafted. Kennedy went to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Gold to the Detroit Tigers and Stanavich to the Miami Marlins.
Pittsburgh chose Kennedy with the 110th overall pick in the fourth round. A 6-foot-1, 205-pounder, Kennedy earned Gatorade’s New York State Baseball Player of the Year award this past season. Kennedy went 6-0 with a 0.60 earned run average. He had 65 strikeouts in 35 innings, allowing just 15 hits and eight walks. Also named the Suburban Council Player of the Year, he hit .361 at the plate.
“It was a good day for all the local kids getting recognition,” Troy coach Chris Stack said by telephone. “Being from upstate New York, they don’t always get that recognition.”
Stack said that Kennedy’s final game with Troy was “as good or better than I’ve seen him.”
Before the draft, Kennedy had signed to attend Louisiana State University, but it isn’t known if he still will or immediately join the Pirates’ organization.
Gold, who completed his junior season with Boston College this year, was selected by Detroit with the 147th overall pick in the fifth round.
A 6-foot, 220-pounder, Gold made the All-ACC second team as a second baseman this season. He made the first team as a third baseman last year. This year Gold hit .308 with nine home runs, 37 RBIs and scored 38 runs. His 21 doubles were second in the ACC and tied for fourth most in a single season at BC. He started all 53 games for the Eagles and had 20 multi-hit games.
Gold became the third-fastest player to earn 100 career hits in BC history, doing so in his 80th game.
The Marlins chose Stanavich, a 5-11, 175-pounder, with the 232nd overall pick in the eighth round. He appeared in 22 games for the Scarlet Knights this season and finished with a 1-3 record and an impressive 2.10 ERA. In 34 ⅓ innings, he struck out 51, allowed just eight unearned runs and nine walks while chalking up a team-high 10 saves.
Stanavich made the ABCA East All-Region first team and also was on the All-Big Ten first team. He was on the midseason watch list for NCBWA Stopper of the Year.
Also, 2019 Albany Dutchmen third baseman Ben Metzinger, from the University of Louisville, was chosen by the Milwaukee Brewers in the seventh round.
On Sunday, pitcher Kumar Rocker was taken third overall by the Texas Rangers. Rocker, a 6-5 right-hander, failed to sign last year when the Mets became concerned with his physical. He had shoulder surgery in September and started five games with the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Frontier League this year. He finished with a 1-0 record and 1.35 ERA. In 20 innings, he had 32 strikeouts, four walks, 11 hits and three earned runs.
Categories: -Sports-, High School Sports
