Cape League Shines In Opening Night of MLB Draft Graphic: Sara Goulart Article By: Kayla Gregoire Round one of the 2022 MLB Draft took place in Los Angeles on Sunday night, and despite breaking the streak of a former Cape Leaguer being taken first overall, there were a lot of alumni taken in the first round. Two Cape Leaguers went in the top 10 of the draft. Prior to the draft, many pre-draft rankings had Brooks Lee getting drafted in the top three. The shortstop fell to the eight spot to the Minnesota Twins. Lee played for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in 2021, where he had a .405 batting average, along with six home runs. Not long after with the ninth pick in the draft, the Kansas City Royals chose Gavin Cross. Cross was on the championship Brewster Whitecaps team. Cross played seven games with the Whitecaps and also slashed .345/.415/.621 with Virginia Tech. In six picks, five Cape Leaguers were taken off the board. From the eighth pick to the thirteenth pick, the only time one was not chosen was the tenth pick in the draft. Kevin Parada was the next to be taken by the New York Mets with the eleventh pick. Parada is known to be very productive when up to bat. With Chatham he had a .655 OPS in nine games with a total of 28 at-bats. Parada was rated as a 48 prospect, but instead opted to go to Georgia Tech to better himself. Now as the eleventh pick, Parada improved with the help of college and the CCBL. The next two to be taken were Jace Jung and Zach Neto with the twelfth and thirteenth pick. Jung went to the Detroit Tigers and Neto to the Los Angeles Angels. Jung shows a lot of discipline at the plate, while Neto adds a lot of power and contact. One of the shocks of the draft was Cam Collier falling eighteenth to the Cincinnati Reds. Collier was projected to go in the top five of the draft, but surprisingly fell. Collier at only 17 years old, one of the youngest in the draft, played nine games with the Cotuit Kettleers. The third baseman despite not showing up on the stat sheet was a bright spot on the Kettleers lineup both offensively and defensively. With the pick of Spencer Jones by the New York Yankees in the twenty fifth round, along with Cross and Neto, three players on the championship Brewster Whitecaps teams were chosen within the 25 top picks. Jones at 6’7” joins fellow 6' 7” Yankee Aaron Judge as a Brewster alum to join the Yankees organization. Jones played 29 games with the Whitecaps, including four playoff games. With his 94 at-bats with the team, he hit for a .309 batting average. The Kettleers also had three guys chosen in the First Round. With Collier, Eric Brown Jr. and Dylan Beavers were also picked. Both played on the 2021 team, making solid contributions to Cotuit. The first overall draft pick was not a Cape League player, but did have a family connection to the Cape. Jackson Holliday is the grandson of Tom Holliday, manager of the Chatham Anglers. Tom was managing a game when his grandson was drafted, but they announced Jackson over the speakers during the game. Overall, 10 players were taken in the first round, meaning a third of the guys taken in the First Round played on the Cape. Two players were taken during the Competitive Balance Round A. Here is the breakdown of every Cape Leaguer taken during the First Round: 8- Minnesota Twins: Brooks Lee, SS, Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox/Cal Poly Competitive Balance Round A- 33- Baltimore Orioles: Dylan Beavers, OF, Cotuit Kettleers/California Rounds 3-10 will be broadcasted starting at 2 p.m. and rounds 11-20 will be on Tuesday at 2pm. Follow the Cape League social media accounts for updates on the alumni selected. |