Former Miners selected in Major League draft

June 8, 2007

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

PALMER - A pair of former Mat-Su Miners were selected on the first day of the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Thursday.

Right fielder Michael Taylor was selected by Philadelphia with the 173rd pick in the fifth round, while Toronto grabbed pitcher Marc Rzepczynski two picks later.

Mat-Su Miners general manager Pete Christopher was surprised Taylor, a Stanford junior, fell to the fifth round.

&#8220He's a five-tool guy,” Christopher said.

Taylor tore up the Alaska Baseball League during his one summer in the 49th state. He hit .317, posted 46 hits, scored 20 runs and drove in 25 runs in 2005. He also stole a team-high 25 bases, showing deceptive speed despite his 6-foot-6 and 260-pound frame.

The All-ABL outfielder was named All-Pac 10 following his junior season. The Florida native hit .335 and recorded 78 hits, 12 home runs and 59 RBI. All were career highs.

He led his Stanford squad in both doubles and home runs.

&#8220Obviously I am very excited about the opportunity to play for the Phillies,” Taylor said in a press release issued by Stanford athletics on Thursday. &#8220They're an organization I kind of have earmarked coming into the process as a good situation for me.”

After a summer in Alaska, Taylor spent part of the 2006 offseason playing for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He hit .467 during the Cape Cod postseason.

Rzepczynski, a University of California-Riverside left-hander, logged 27 innings pitched for the Miners in 2005. He posted a 2-1 record with a 2.33 ERA. Pitching primarily out of the bullpen, Rzepczynski averaged a strikeout per inning.

&#8220He's an all-around good pitcher,” Christopher said. &#8220He just gets guys out.”

As a junior at UC Riverside, Rzepczynski was 6-2 with a 2.72 ERA. He fanned 84 in 72.2 innings.

The two-day draft continues today with rounds 6-50. Christopher said a handful of other former Miners and a few members of the 2007 squad have the potential to be selected today.

Among those who could be chosen are three pitchers from the 2006 squad - Notre Dame's David Gruener, Yale's Chris Wietlispach and Marshall's Brian Chrisman.

Three members of the 2007 team - Pepperdine outfielder Donald Brown, UC Riverside infielder Ben Price and St. Johns lefty George Brown - also could be selected. Players on the current roster who are selected in the draft could potentially sign with a Major League team, and forego their chance to play with the Miners, Christopher said.

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