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

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.

Many Albertans projected to be among first Canadians drafted

The Canadian Baseball Network has an updated Canadian draft list.  12 young players from Alberta are on the list, including 5 of the first 17.
Those 5 are:
#8 - Ryan Thompson - a right handed pitcher from Fort McMurray, playing at Franklin Pierce University

#10 - Adam Paulencu - also a RHP, from Spruce Grove and playing at the Vancouver Island Baseball Institute

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)

Junior National Team plays Blue Jays

The Canada Junior National Team had an opportunity to face MLB hopefuls in a Spring Training exhibition game against the Blue Jays.  Albertans Cory Scammell and Brendan Hendricks got into the game, Hendricks enjoying some success getting the first hit of the game.  The Juniors only managed 2 hits as they were shutout 9-0.

Hendriks gets scholarship

Brendan Hendriks from Cochrane, who is currently playing at Vauxhall has accepted a scholarship with Midland College.   He will be playing for the Chaps, who are in the NJCAA Division 1, at Midland Texas.  Hendriks is currently trying out for the Canadian National Junior Team as well.