Current, former Miners selected in MLB draft

PALMER — Each summer, college standouts from across the country head north to play in the Alaska Baseball League, eager to hone their craft as they work toward the highest level of baseball.

In the last three days, 14 former members of the Mat-Su Miners and three players currently on the Miners roster took another step in the path to professional baseball.

Seventeen players with ties to the Mat-Su Miners were selected during the 2016 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Mat-Su Miners skipper Ben Taylor, who coached all 14 of the former Miners selected during his first three seasons in the Valley, said he’s excited and proud of the number of current and former Miners selected in the 40-round draft.

“It says a lot about how we do things, that a (college) team will send us these types of players,” Taylor said Saturday afternoon as the Miners prepared to make the trek to Anchorage to play an evening game against the Bucs. “It starts at the top of the organization with (Miners general manager Pete Christopher) as far as how the players are treated.”

Seventeen current or former players selected in a single draft is the most for the Miners organization in at least two decades. The previous high was 14 players in 2006. Eleven former Miners were taken in the draft last year.

It’s also the first time since 1978 that three players on the current Miners roster were selected in the draft.

The list of drafted former Miners is topped by University of Tennessee junior Nick Senzel, who was selected by Cincinnati with the No. 2 pick in the 2016 draft.

“That’s a real special deal. He’s probably the most advanced college bat in the draft,” Taylor said of Senzel. “He’s a guy that should advance rapidly through the minor leagues.”

The infielder, projected to play third base, appeared in 23 games for the Miners in 2014.

Senzel posted a career batting average of .332 during his three seasons with the Volunteers. He also drove in 126 runs, while slugging .508.

Senzel is one of two players with ties to the Miners selected within the top two picks in the history of the MLB draft. Former Miner Jeff King, who played a combined 10 years in the majors with Pittsburgh and Kansas City, was taken No. 1 in the 1978 draft.

It marks the second straight year that a former Miner was taken in the first round of the MLB draft. Last year, another Tennessee product, outfielder Christin Stewart, was taken 31st by Detroit. Stewart earned Alaska Baseball League Player of the Year honors while with the Miners in 2013.

Texas A&M right-hander Jace Vines leads the list of the three current Miners who were selected. The Aggies pitcher was taken in the fourth round with the 133rd pick by Kansas City.

“What a special deal for him as a draft-eligible sophomore,” Taylor said.

In 16 games this season, which includes 11 starts, Vines is 6-1 with a 4.87 earned run average. He has 58 strikeouts, compared to 18 walks. Vines is still with his college team. Vines and the Aggies faced Texas Christian in Game 2 of the NCAA Super Regional Central round Saturday.

Vines could sign with Kansas City following the college season. But Taylor said Vines could still join the Miners this summer.

Infielder Brady Whalen and pitcher Gage Burland, also members of the 2016 Miners, were also taken in the draft.

Whalen, a highly touted prep prospect, was selected by St. Louis in the 12th round with the 376th pick. Whalen, a Vancouver, Washington, product who played for Union High School, has committed to play for Oregon in the fall. Taylor called the infielder one of the top high school players in the country.

“We knew Brady would be a draft pick. We weren’t sure how high,” Taylor said.

Burland, a Gonzaga pitcher, was taken in the 25th round by Philadelphia.

“He’s a big-time arm, who will really add some depth to our pitching staff,” Taylor said of Burland.

Whalen and Burland are both expected to arrive in the Valley Tuesday.

Vines was one of four current or former Miners selected on the second day of the three-day draft. Texas A&M pitcher Ryan Hendrix, who played with the Miners last season, was taken in the fifth round by Cincinnati with the 138th pick. Pacific outfielder Gio Brusa, a 2013 member of the Miners, was selected by San Francisco in the sixth round with the 185th pick. Paul Pannacione, Mat-Su’s shortstop in 2014, was taken in the 10th round with the 304th pick by the Washington Nationals.

Also selected from Mat-Su’s 2015 team were: Stetson outfielder Vance Vizcaino (11th round, 343rd pick by Kansas City); Texas A&M pitcher Kyle Simonds (14th round, 424th pick by Washington); Central Florida catcher Matt Diorio (16th round, 495th pick by Pittsburgh); Texas A&M pitcher Brigham Hill (20th round, 592nd pick by Oakland); and Kansas State infielder Tyler Wolfe (39th round, 1,177th pick by Houston).

Taken from the 2014 Miners were: Northwestern State pitcher Adam Oller (20th round, 615th pick by Pittsburgh), Pacific pitcher Vince Arobio (27th round, 808th pick by Boston) Azusa Pacific pitcher Jonathan Reid (28th round, 844th pick by Washington) and Tennessee pitcher Kyle Serrano (40th round, 1,191th pick by Milwaukee).

California Santa Barbara pitcher Trevor Bettencourt, who played for Mat-Su in 2013, was taken by Philadelphia in the 25th round with the 737th pick.

Since 2003, 145 players with ties to the Miners have been selected in the draft.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.