Former Mat-Su Miners selected in 2022 MLB Draft

Six former Mat-Su Miners, including a pair who helped the Miners with an Alaska Baseball League title, were recently selected in the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft.

Left-handed pitcher Ian Churchill and outfielder Josh Hatcher were part of Mat-Su’s championship team in 2018. Churchill, then a Santa Barbara Community College product, was one of the ABL’s best on the mound that summer, finishing the regular season 7-0 with a 1.55 ERA. Hatcher, a Mississippi State player, was third on the Miners with a .278 batting average.

Both were taken in the 10th round. The Texas Rangers used the 289th pick to get Hatcher. Toronto selected Churchill with the 308th pick.

Texas A&M pitcher Brandon Birdsell was the first former Miner taken in the 2022 draft. The Chicago Cubs took the right-hander in the fifth round. Birdsell was 2-1 with a 2.01 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 22.1 innings for the Miners in 2019.

Birdsell’s 2019 Mat-Su teammates, Kody Huff, and Jacob McNairy were also drafted. The Colorado Rockies selected Huff in the seventh round. Seattle grabbed McNairy in the 16th round. Huff was second on the Miners with a .275 batting average and 27 runs. Huff was with the Miners for the summer after his senior year of high school, and played his college baseball at Stanford.

McNairy was one of the best relief pitchers in the ABL in 2019, leading the league with nine saves and a 1.25 ERA. McNairy played college baseball at Alabama.

Tyler Woessner, a member of the 2021 team, was selected by Milwaukee in the sixth round. Woessner, a Central Arizona Community College right-hander, appeared in three games for the Miners, and had four strikeouts in seven innings pitched.

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