Angels grab former Miner early in MLB draft

PALMER — Last summer, former Mat-Su Miner head coach Conner Bird said Garrett Richards was “as close to a Major League pitcher as you’re going to see in the (Alaska Baseball League).”

Now the University of Oklahoma junior and member of the 2008 Mat-Su pitching staff took another step toward becoming that Major League pitcher.

Richards was selected 42nd overall by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim with a late first-round supplemental pick during the first day of the MLB draft on Tuesday.

“He has a live arm and scouts love that,” Mat-Su general manager Pete Christopher said of Richards, who has a fastball that currently tops out at 98 miles per hour.

Richards became the 14th former Miner in the 33-year history of the Mat-Su ballclub to be selected in the first round, and the first since Stanford infielder Jed Lowrie was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the first round of the 2005 draft.

Lowrie, who played for the Miners in 2003, made his MLB debut with the Red Sox last year and is currently on Boston’s 15-day disabled list.

The Edmond, Okla., product started his college career as a closer and capped his stay as a starter. Somewhere in between he watched his stock sky rocket in Alaska.

Richards left Palmer with a modest 2-1 record, 3.42 earned run average in four starts and 23 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings. But with the Miners, Richards developed a slider to complement his 98 mph fastball. Following the 2008 ABL season, Richards was named the best professional baseball prospect by Perfect Game and was ranked the league’s No. 2 pro prospect by Baseball America.

Christopher said Richards has the hardest fastball he’s seen from a Mat-Su players during his seven years as the Miners general manager.

“I figured he’d be a first-round pick,” Christopher said. “He definitely has the stuff.”

Richards was one of 11 former Miners to be selected in the three-day 2009 draft. Two members of the 2009 team — outfielder DJ Gentile and infielder Shane Brown — were also selected.

Gentile was picked in the 43rd round by Cleveland, while Brown, who picked up a pair of doubles during his Mat-Su debut on Wednesday, was selected in the 47th round by the New York Yankees.

Gentile is a sophomore at California Poly and Brown is a junior at Central Florida. Both can either sign with the team that drafted them or return for another season of college baseball.

Oregon State catcher Ryan Ortiz, a member of Mat-Su’s 2007 squad, was taken by the Oakland A’s during the sixth round.

Following his summer in Palmer, Ortiz was named All-Pac 10 as a sophomore after leading the Beavers with a .351 batting average.

He hit .352 as a junior, while driving in 45 runs.

“I’m sure he’s going to do well,” Christopher said of Ortiz. “He’s 6-foot-3 and he can hit a little bit.”

According to a report published by The Oregonian on Wednesday, Ortiz intends to forgo his senior season at OSU and sign a professional contract with Oakland.

Ortiz was the first 10 former Miners selected during the second day.

Cal. State Long Beach pitcher Charles Ruiz and UC Riverside pitcher were taken by the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins, respectively, in the 10th round. Florida also grabbed St. Mary’s outfielder Kyle Jensen in the 12th. Southern Mississippi infielder James Ewing was taken by the New York Mets later in that round. In the 18th, Oakland picked San Jose State pitcher Max Peterson and Philadelphia selected UC Riverside center fielder Carl Uhl. Stanford outfielder Joey August was grabbed by the Mets in the 20th. Washington pitcher Jason Erickson went to Pittsburgh in the 24th, while Cal Poly pitcher Jared Eskew was drafted by Florida in the 29th.

August, Montgomery, Uhl and Eskew played for the Miners in 2007. Ruiz and Jensen suited up for Mat-Su in 2008. Ewing, Peterson and Erickson spent the summers of 2007 and 2008 in the Valley.

Since the 2003 draft, more than 70 former Mat-Su players have been selected by MLB teams. More than half of those players are currently playing in the Minor Leagues.

“Baseball’s a tough sport,” Christopher said. “How far they go is up to them. If they stay healthy, especially pitchers, that’s huge.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Former Mat-Su Miners drafted

First round — 42. LA Angels- Garrett Richards, Oklahoma; Sixth round — 183. Oakland A’s- Ryan Ortiz, Oregon State; 10th round — Colorado Rockies- Charles Ruiz, Cal. State Long Beach; 308. Florida Marlins- Matt Montgomery, UC Riverside; 12th round — 368. Florida Marlins- Kyle Jensen, St. Mary’s; 374. NY Mets- James Ewing, Southern Mississippi; 18th round — 543. Oakland A’s- Max Peterson, San Jose State; 557. Philadelphia Phillies- Carl Uhl, UC Riverside; 20th round — 614. NY Mets- Joey August, Stanford; 24th round — 715. Pittsburgh Pirates- Jason Erickson, Washington; 29th round — 878. Florida Marlins- Jared Eskew, Cal Poly; 43rd round — 1295. Cleveland Indians- DJ Gentile, Cal Poly; 47th round — 1425. NY Yankees- Shane Brown, Central Florida.