2009 Draft Results

2009 Draft Results

June 9-11, 2009

The Cal Ripken League had its first alum of the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft taken in the third round when Ben Tootle (Jacksonville State/Bethesda Big Train 2007) was taken by the Minnesota Twins. When all was said and done, thirty-eight total alumni (or current players) were drafted into professional baseball -- a new record for the Ripken League.

Accolades from Baseball America's 2009 Team-by-Team Draft Report Cards are included in italics.

Ben Tootle │ RHP │ Jacksonville State │ Big Train 2007
Drafted: Round 3, Overall Pick #101 (Minnesota Twins)

Best Fastball

Baseball America's '09 Draft Preview on Tootle: ''Tootle threw 174 innings his first two seasons at Jacksonville State and shined last summer in the Cape Cod League, where he ranked as the league's No. 4 prospect. He showed a 94-98 mph fastball last summer and similar velocity at times this spring. He's a hard worker and long-toss fan with a quick arm who holds his above-average velocity deep into games when he's physically right. Tootle missed about a month with a stomach virus that caused him to lose more than 10 pounds. Tootle's secondary stuff remains in question as does the life on his fastball. He throws a hard slider that grades out as average and a changeup as well, though it's below-average. Most scouts consider Tootle a better bet to relieve despite his ability to throw hard for seven innings. His draft status might hinge on how he finishes and how well teams saw him last summer. He won't go in the first round as he might have right after last summer's preformance, but he shouldn't be far behind his small-school brethren.''

Mycal Jones │ SS │ Miami Dade (FL) CC │ Braves 2008
Drafted: Round 4, Overall Pick #118 (Atlanta Braves)

Best Athlete
(Runner Up) Fastest Runner

Jon Karcich │ SS │ Santa Clara │ Big Train 2007
Drafted: Round 7, Overall Pick #231 (Los Angeles Angels)

Brian Dozier │ SS │ Southern Miss │ Big Train 2006
Drafted: Round 8, Overall Pick #252 (Minnesota Twins)

Best Defensive Player
Best Pro Debut
Best Athlete

Ryan Buch │ RHP │ Monmouth │ Orioles 2008
Drafted: Round 8, Overall Pick #253 (Chicago White Sox)

Best Fastball

Baseball America's '09 Draft Preview on Buch: ''Buch broke out in 2007, when he went 9-2, 2.44 as a freshman at Monmouth and ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the Atlantic Collegiate League that summer. He's always had a prototype pitcher's frame and an excellent curveball, but his stock soared in April along with his velocity. Buch has reached the low 90s with his fastball since he was a freshman, and he has still pitched in that range for most of this spring. More recently he had run his fastball up to 95, sitting at 92-93. The velocity on his sharp, downer curveball has also spiked, reaching 84-85 mph. Even when he throws it slower it's still a true above-average offering. But when he throws it harder, it can rate as a 70 or better pitch on the 20-80 scouting scale. Buch is refining his fastball command, and he does not have a lot of feel for his changeup. But scouts can dream on him, and he seems likely to be drafted in the first two rounds in June.''

Ben Orloff │ SS │ UC-Irvine │ Express 2006
Drafted: Round 9, Overall Pick #281 (Houston Astros)

Steven Bumbry │ OF │ Virginia Tech │ Orioles 2007-08
Drafted: Round 12, Overall Pick #356 (Baltimore Orioles)

Most Intriguing Background

Connor Hoehn │ RHP │ St. Petersburg (FL) JC │ Big Train 2007-08
Drafted: Round 12, Overall Pick #363 (Oakland A's)

Best Fastball
Fifth-Best Pro Debut - JuCo Division (Overall)

Vin DiFazio │ C │ Alabama │ Orioles 2006
Drafted: Round 12, Overall Pick #364 (Texas Rangers)

Best Pro Debut

Jarret Martin │ LHP │ Bakersfield (CA) College │ Orioles 2008
Drafted: Round 18, Overall Pick #536 (Baltimore Orioles)

Eric Roof │ C │ Michigan State │ Big Train 2007
Drafted: Round 18, Overall Pick #540 (Detroit Tigers)

Most Intriguing Background

Reynolds Parthemore │ P │ Cedar Cliff (Pa.) HS │ Redbirds 2009
Drafted: Round 18, Overall Pick #558 (Boston Red Sox)

Scott Krieger │ OF │ George Mason │ Orioles 2006
Drafted: Round 19, Overall Pick #586 (Milwaukee Brewers)

Scott Schneider │ RHP │ St. Mary's (CA) │ Big Train 2008
Drafted: Round 20, Overall Pick #609 (St. Louis Cardinals)

(Runner-Up) Best Pro Debut

Jeff Rowland │ OF │ Georgia Tech │ Orioles 2008
Drafted: Round 21, Overall Pick #635 (Cleveland Indians)

Chris Henderson │ C │ George Mason │ Orioles 2007
Drafted: Round 21, Overall Pick #637 (Los Angeles Dodgers)

Pete Fatse │ OF │ Connecticut │ Express 2007
Drafted: Round 24, Overall Pick #736 (Milwaukee Brewers)

Josh Squatrito │ RHP │ Towson │ Orioles 2006-07
Drafted: Round 25, Overall Pick #759 (St. Louis Cardinals)

Justin Bour │ 1B │ George Mason │ Orioles 2006-07
Drafted: Round 25, Overall Pick #770 (Chicago Cubs)

Michael Gilmartin │ 2B │ Wofford │ Express 2006
Drafted: Round 27, Overall Pick #813 (Oakland A's)

Kyle Davis │ 2B │ Delaware │ Orioles 2007
Drafted: Round 27, Overall Pick #823 (Chicago White Sox)

Reed Gragnani │ SS │ Mills Godwin (VA) HS │ Orioles 2008
Drafted: Round 27, Overall Pick #828 (Boston Red Sox)

Zach Anderson │ RHP │ Buffalo │ Redbirds 2007
Drafted: Round 29, Overall Pick #880 (Toronto Blue Jays)

Nick Gaudi │ RHP │ Pepperdine │ Express 2005
Drafted: Round 30, Overall Pick #907 (Los Angeles Dodgers)

Matt Long │ OF │ Santa Clara │ Big Train 2006
Drafted: Round 30, Overall Pick #921 (Los Angeles Angels)

Dylan Tonneson │ C │ California │ Big Train 2008
Drafted: Round 36, Overall Pick #1074 (San Diego Padres)

Alex Pepe │ LHP │ Florida Atlantic │ Big Train 2006
Drafted: Round 36, Overall Pick #1090 (Toronto Blue Jays)

Eric Oliver │ 1B │ UC-Santa Barbara │ Express 2006
Drafted: Round 36, Overall Pick #1101 (Los Angeles Angels)

AJ Casario │ OF │ Maryland │ College Park Bombers 2007
Drafted: Round 38, Overall Pick #1153 (Chicago White Sox)

Daniel Cropper │ RHP │ UNC-Wilmington │ Orioles 2006
Drafted: Round 42, Overall Pick #1252 (Washington Nationals)

Joe Velleggia │ C │ Old Dominion │ Orioles 2007-09
Drafted: Round 42, Overall Pick #1256 (Baltimore Orioles)

Nick Schwaner │ 3B │ New Orleans │ Orioles 2007
Drafted: Round 42, Overall Pick #1257 (San Francisco Giants)

Josh Conway │ OF │ Smithsburg (MD) HS │ Redbirds 2009
Drafted: Round 42, Overall Pick #1258 (Atlanta Braves)

Mike Schurz │ RHP │ Iowa │ Redbirds 2006
Drafted: Round 44, Overall Pick #1331 (Houston Astros)

Best Late Round Pick

Harold Baines, Jr. │ OF │ McDaniel │ T-Bolts 2007
Drafted: Round 45, Overall Pick #1363 (Chicago White Sox)

Most Intriguing Background

Scott Swinson │ RHP │ Maryland │ Orioles 2007-09
Drafted: Round 46, Overall Pick #1376 (Baltimore Orioles)

Mark Tracy │ C │ Duquesne │ Express 2007
Drafted: Round 49, Overall Pick #1471 (Colorado Rockies)

Most Intriguing Background

Paul-Michael Klingsberg │ 1B │ Cal State-Dominguez Hills │ Express 2007
Drafted: Round 49, Overall Pick #1482 (Minnesota Twins)

Chris Cullen │ P │ Michigan State │ Big Train 2006
Signed: Free Agent (Pittsburgh Pirates)

Billy Gross │ P │ West Virginia │ Express 2006
Signed: Free Agent (Baltimore Orioles)

Gary Helmick │ SS │ Towson │ Express 2008
Signed: Free Agent (Baltimore Orioles)

Gerard Hall │ SS │ Old Dominion │ Orioles 2008
Signed: Free Agent (Kansas City Royals)