Wednesday, June 8, 2011

7 players from Alberta taken in annual MLB draft

Yesterday, Adam Paulencu, Ethan Elias and Jake Hansen were selected on day 2 of the draft.  Joining them as MLB draftees from Alberta today were LHP Sheldon McDonald from Spruce Grove,  outfielder Cory Scammell from Edmonton, Ryan Thompson who I previously wrote about, and Brendan Hendricks.

Some other names notable to Albertans including LHP Sean Dartnell who went to Vauxhall Academy and 1B Trevor Gretzky who I'm told had a dad who was a professional athlete in our province.

Here's a summary of Albertan's drafted in the 2011 MLB draft:




Name     
Position
Hometown
Round
Team
Adam Paulencu 
RHP 
Spruce Grove
13
Giants
Ethan Elias 
RHP 
 Entwistle 
20
Cubs
Jake Hansen
LHP
Fort MacLeod
30
Mets
Sheldon MacDonald
LHP
Spruce Grove
33
Cubs
Cory Scammell
OF
Edmonton
35
Mariners
Ryan Thompson


RHP
Fort McMurray
36
Yankees
Brendan Hendricks
3B
Cochrane
40
Phillies



3 Albertans drafted in Day 2

{editor’s note:  I wrote this last night, but due to technical difficulties was unable to post it on the blog until after the end of the 3rd day.}
There were no Canadians taken in the first round of the MLB draft.  On day 2, Tom Robson was the first Canadian taken as expected, when the Blue Jays selected the big LHP with their 4th round pick.   RHP Adam Paulencu of Spruce Grove was the first Albertan taken when the Giants took him in the 13th round.   The next local prospect taken was another RHP, Ethan Elias of Entwistle who went to the Cubs in the 22nd round.  The third and last Albertan drafted today was another pitcher, this time a southpaw. Jake Hansen from Fort MacLeod was taken in the 30th round by the Mets.

There are still several outstanding prospects available, including Ryan Thompson and Cory Scammell, who are likely to be taken in tomorrow’s rounds.  I will post an article with the results of the final day after tomorrow.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Dale Anderson leads Seton Hall to NCAA Regionals

There are 64 teams who earned an entry into the annual NCAA baseball tournament to ultimately crown a College World Series Champion.  There are several Canadians playing on these rosters, but only one player is from Alberta. That is Strathmore's own Dale Anderson.  Read my article about how he helped the underdog Seton Hall Pirates beat #1 UConn on the way to win the Big East Championship, and are now playing in the NCAA Regionals.