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 4^th 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 22^nd round.  The third and last Albertan drafted today was another pitcher, this time a southpaw. Jake Hansen from Fort MacLeod was taken in the 30^th 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.

Albertans lead Junior National Team to win

Jake Hansen of Fort MacLeod threw 3 shutout innings, while Jordan Procyshen of Calgary and Brendan Hendriks of Cochrane helped the offence as the Junior National Team defeated the Washington Nationals 
extended spring team 7-4.


The team has 2 games left, tomorrow and Friday against the Tigers and Astros before returning home on the weekend.  They will then be back in action from May 18th to May 26th in the Dominican Summer League.

2 Albertans pitch in JNT finale

In the Junior National Team's last game in St. Petersburg, the bats were quiet as the Netherlands team shut them out 8-0.   Jake Hansen got into the game relieving the starter in the 2nd inning and getting out of a jam, and Logan Seifrit pitched 2 innings, striking out 4 batters.

Along with Hansen of Fort MacLeod and Seifrit from Spruce Grove, the JNT also featured the following Albertans:

Pitcher Ethan Elias (Entwistle)
Infielder Brendan Hendriks (Cochrane)
Catcher Jordan Procyshen (Calgary)
Outfielder Cory Scammell (Edmonton)
Coach Chris Reitsma (Calgary)
Coach Mike Johnson (Sherwood Park)