Competing for the Big Leagues

The quality of South Jersey high school baseball was demonstrated by the recent MLB draft, where nine players from the seven-county South Jersey area were selected in the two-day, 20-round draft.

Players selected from high school or a four-year college, must sign by 5 p.m. ET on July 28.

Here is a recap of who was selected:

Caden Bodin, Coastal Carolina catcher (Haddon Heights graduate). Bodine was the 30^th overall selection by the Baltimore Orioles, a compensatory pick in the first round. He is a switch-hitter who helped lead Coastal Carolina to the College World Series championship, before losing to national champion LSU. 

This season in 67 games, he hit .318 with five home runs and 42 RBIs. More impressively, he walked 47 times and struck out just 24 in 245 at-bats. During his three-year career, he batted .337 with 25 home runs, 160 RBIs and a .968 OPS. Bodine has agreed to terms with the Orioles and according to MLB.com, he signed for a bonus of $3.1 million.

Frank Cairone, Delsea pitcher. Cairone, who won’t turn 18 until September, was selected in the second round by the Milwaukee Brewers, 68^th overall. This past season the lefthander was 6-1 with a 0.48 ERA. He struck out 94 batters in 44 innings. He will be deciding between turning pro or competing for Coastal Carolina. 

Trevor Cohen, Rutgers outfielder (Holy Spirit graduate). Cohen was a third-round pick of the San Francisco Giants, selected 85^th overall. Playing right field for Rutgers, Cohen hit .387 this past season with a team-high 24 doubles and had twice as many walks (30) as strikeouts. Even though he played right field for Rutgers, he has the speed to develop into a centerfielder.

Josiah Ragsdale, Boston College outfielder (St. Augustine graduate). Ragsdale was among three players from St. Augustine selected in the draft. He was drafted in the seventh round, 215^th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers. Ragsdale hit .319 with five home runs, 30 stolen bases and 60 runs scored for Boston College, where he transferred after playing two seasons at Iona.

Ryan Weingartner, Penn State shortstop (St. Augustine graduate). Weingartner was selected in the eighth round (240^th overall) by the St. Louis Cardinals. After playing his first two college seasons at St. Joseph’s, Weingartner hit .250 with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs for Penn State, while setting the single-season stolen base record with 30. 

Maximus Martin, Kansas State infielder-outfielder (Moorestown graduate). Martin was selected in the 10^th round by the Boston Red Sox, 298^th overall. He spent his freshman season at Rutgers and then attended Georgia State as a sophomore before settling in at Kansas State, where he earned second Team All-Big 12 honors this season. Martin batted .320 with 14 home runs and 54 RBIs. Martin began the year playing shortstop and second base, but by the end of the season he was in centerfield, utilizing his great speed. 

Holden deJong, NJIT pitcher (St. Augustine graduate). DeJong was selected in the 11^th round by the Baltimore Orioles, 334^th overall. A lefthander, deJong was 3-1 with a 3.41 ERA in six starts before suffering a season-ending injury this past year. He recorded 31 strikeouts in 29 innings. 

Logan Dawson, Eastern shortstop. Dawson, who is a Boston College commit, was selected in the 16^th round, the 491^st overall selection by the Phillies. Dawson, who was also a pitcher for Eastern, hit .318 with 14 walks, 14 stolen bases and 36 runs scored. He is a rarity in the draft—a three-sport athlete, who was also a football quarterback and guard on the basketball team. 

Blake Morgan, Old Dominion pitcher (Cherokee graduate). Morgan was taken in the 19^th round by the Tampa Bay Rays, 567^th overall. In four years at Old Dominion, the lefthander went 18-10 with a 4.21 ERA and 217 strikeouts in 252.1 innings pitched. This season he was 5-4 with a 4.62 ERA.

Photo: Frank Cairone of Delsea / Marc Narducci

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Author: Marc Narducci