Prep Baseball Report

2018 MLB Draft - Ohio Recap


Bruce Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Senior Writer

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2018 MLB Draft - Ohio Recap

It was an exciting day for Ohio baseball players when 36 were chosen in the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft.

Ryan Feltner and Ryan Weiss were the top selections from the state, with Feltner (Ohio State/Walsh Jesuit) taken in the fourth round with the 126th pick by Colorado Rockies and Weiss (Wright State/South Elgin, Ill.) going three picks later by Arizona Diamondbacks.

Five of those drafted from Ohio were recent high school graduates. Nick Northcutt of Mason went in the 11th round, Keegan Fish of Lakota West in round 15, Nick Thwaits of Fort Recovery in round 15, Cole Ayers of West Clermont in the 36th round and Austin Becker of Big Walnut a round after that.

DRAFT TALK

ANDREW MCDONALD
Virginia Tech, Mason 2013, Reds, Round 9, Pick 259

Where were you when you heard about being drafted and what were your immediate thoughts?
I was at home on my back deck with my mom when I got the phone call from the Reds. I was just in shock, I couldn't believe it was real at first.

What expectations did you have prior to the draft?
I thought that if I got drafted that it would be in later rounds due to the fact that I was a 5th year senior.

What are your plans now and what all will weigh into the decision of turning pro or not?
I have signed with the Reds and am currently playing in Billings, Montana.

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BRAD WILSON
Ohio Dominican, Blue Jays, Blue Jays, Round 13, Pick 386

Where were you when you heard about being drafted and what were your immediate thoughts?
When I got drafted I was in my living room with my family and fiancée watching the live stream of the draft. The first thing that came to my mind was pure gratefulness that I was blessed enough to have received this opportunity. I also need to thank my Lord and savior Jesus Christ for providing me with the ability to do what I love.

What expectations did you have prior to the draft?
I didn’t have many expectations at all. I was confident that I was going to get a chance to live out my dream due to the tremendous help from my agent Joe Speed.

What teams had been in contact with you before the draft?
There were many teams in contact with me prior to the draft but the few that were the most interested were the Yankees, Red Sox, Reds, Nationals, and of course the Blue Jays

What are your plans now and what all will weigh into the decision of turning pro or not?
Now that I have signed with the Blue Jays, I am going to continue to work harder than ever before to show what I can do and hopefully with the help of the great staff and organization here, I may get a chance to make it to the MLB.

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KEEGAN FISH
Lakota West 2018, Marlins, Round 13, Pick 387

Where were you when you heard about being drafted and what were your immediate thoughts?
I was home alone. My mom was at work and my dad was looking for a car. I wanted to jump up and hug somebody but nobody was there.

What expectations did you have prior to the draft?
I thought I was going to go on the second day but when it didn’t happen I started to get a little nervous. But then I got some calls that it might happen early the third day.

What teams had been in contact with you before the draft?
I worked out for Boston, Cincinnati and Miami. All of the workouts went well. I did what I had to do with no regrets. I knew it would come down to one of those three since they’d had an extra eye on me.

What are your plans now and what all will weigh into the decision of turning pro or not?
Once I talked it out with Miami, the decision to make was not easy. It was also a dream of mine to be an Ohio State baseball player. But after talking to people in my life who I value their opinion, and then talking to my parents, I felt it was best for me to take the opportunity to be a professional baseball player.

If you have already signed, where will you be going to start your pro career?
Most likely I will be in rookie ball with the Gulf Coast Marlins.

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NICK ERNST
Miami, LaSalle 2015, Yankees, Round 15, Pick 457

Where were you when you heard about being drafted and what were your immediate thoughts?
I was in my family room watching it on tv with my family. My immediate thoughts are a blur just because of how excited and happy I was, but I’d say they were along the lines of I can’t believe it!

What expectations did you have prior to the draft?
I didn’t know where to expect my name called due to my injury, but I thought it would be somewhere around where I was selected.

What teams had been in contact with you before the draft?
I had been in contact with many teams prior, but I knew it was pretty much between the Yankees, Rangers, and Reds.

What are your plans now and what all will weigh into the decision of turning pro or not?
My plans are to sign. I’ve always felt like no matter what, if you are lucky and blessed enough to get a chance to play professional baseball, do it. I fly to Tampa, FL on Wednesday to sign my contract and continue doing physical therapy with the Yankees.

If you have already signed, where will you be going to start your pro career?
I will be rehabbing until next season due to my surgery I had on my ucl in March, but next season is still up in the air.

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MICHAEL WIELANSKY
Wooster, Ladue, Mo. 2015, Astros, Round 18, Pick 552

Where were you when you heard about being drafted and what were your immediate thoughts?
I was at home with my family and girlfriend when I heard about being drafted. My immediate reaction was to hug my family and think that it was a dream come true.

What expectations did you have prior to the draft?
I didn’t really have any big expectations going into the draft. I was just hoping for my name to get called at some point.

What teams had been in contact with you before the draft?
I got questionnaires from at least 11 or 12 teams. I actually had not been in a lot of contact with the Astros until the day I got drafted.

What are your plans now and what all will weigh into the decision of turning pro or not?
I am going to sign with the Astros. I wanted to get into professional baseball as early as I could. Another big factor that influenced my decision was to have my last year of college covered after my baseball career is over.

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GABE SNYDER
Wright State, West Holmes 2013, Twins, Round 21, Pick 634

Where were you when you heard about being drafted and what were your immediate thoughts?
I was sitting in my apartment with a few of my teammates when I found out. I was extremely excited and happy to be able to be living my dream.

What expectations did you have prior to the draft?
I was hoping that I would get my name called and get a chance to play professionally.

What teams had been in contact with you before the draft?
The Dodgers, Mariners, Reds, Marlins, Tigers, White Sox and Twins.

What are your plans now and what all will weigh into the decision of turning pro or not?
I was a senior in college so I will be signing with the Twins and further my career. I am going to be playing for the GCL Twins in Fort Myers.

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PAVIN PARKS
Kent State, Manchester 2015, Padres, Round 24, Pick 711

Where were you when you heard about being drafted and what were your immediate thoughts?
I was in my apartment at Kent State when I heard the news and my immediate reaction was relief and excitement. It’s what you work your whole life for is to have the opportunity to play pro.

What expectations did you have prior to the draft?
Prior to the draft my expectations were to get drafted and accomplish that.

What teams had been in contact with you before the draft?
I had talked to several teams throughout the year from the fall semester through the draft including: the Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres and others.

What are your plans now and what all will weigh into the decision of turning pro or not?
After a few days I made the decision to go back to Kent State for one more year. It was an extremely tough decision to make, but why I decided to return was because I trust the coaching staff at Kent. They always put us in good positions to succeed.

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CAM ALLDRED
Cincinnati, Cincinnati Country Day, Pirates, Round 24, Pick 714

Where were you when you heard about being drafted and what were your immediate thoughts?
I'm very excited & thankful the Pirates drafted me, I was at my apartment on campus at UC when I received the call for being drafted, it was the best call and day of my life!

What expectations did you have prior to the draft?
I thought my chances were very good this year for being drafted.

What teams had been in contact with you before the draft?
There were 5 additional teams that contacted me, very happy the Pirates made the call to me!

What are your plans now and what all will weigh into the decision of turning pro or not?
I signed my contract on Tuesday (June 12). I'm planning on continuing working hard to help my current team and have an opportunity to continue to play at many new levels in the future.

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ELI KRAUS
Kent State, Buckeye 2014, Cardinals, Round 24, Pick 723

Where were you when you heard about being drafted and what were your immediate thoughts?
I was actually at a local retail store in Medina (my home town) with a close friend and girlfriend when I heard I was drafted. I was overcome with pride and happiness. Kind of left speechless.

What expectations did you have prior to the draft?
I had pretty simple expectations about the draft. Either I was going to get selected or I wasn’t. Either way my life was going to change.

What teams had been in contact with you before the draft?
I had been in contact with most MLB teams before the draft.

What are your plans now and what all will weigh into the decision of turning pro or not?
I have already decided to go pro and have left for short season A ball at State College, Pennsylvania.

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GLEN RICHARDSON
Sinclair, Cincinnati commit, Jackson 2016, Rangers, Round 29, Pick 869

Where were you when you heard about being drafted and what were your immediate thoughts?
I was with a friend most of the day waiting around. I went home and got a text from a scout (Chris Valentine) from another team congratulating me. After that the phone blew up.

What expectations did you have prior to the draft?
I talked to a few teams and knew what and when to expect so it was not so much a surprise, it was more being anxious.

What are your plans now and what all will weigh into the decision of turning pro or not?
They flew me to Ohio the day after I was picked and talked about what the offer would be and what to expect. I thought about the offer and flew out a couple days later and told them I’d take it.

DRAFT PICKS

RYAN FELTNER
Walsh Jesuit 2015, Ohio State
Round 4, Pick 126, Colorado Rockies
Status: Signed

RYAN WEISS
South Elgin, Ill., 2015, Wright State
Round 4, Pick 129, Arizona Diamondbacks
Status: Likely to sign

ADAM WOLF
Milan Edison 2015, Louisville
Round 5, Pick 135, Detroit Tigers
Status: Signed

RODNEY HUTCHISON
Mason 2015, North Carolina
Round 6, Pick 187, New York Yankees
Status: Signed

CHANDLER DAY
Watkins Memorial 2015, Vanderbilt
Round 7, Pick 221, Washington Nationals
Status: Signed

ZACH SPEARS
Mount Vernon, Ind., 2015, Miami
Round 8, Pick 234, Pittsburgh Pirates
Status: Signed

JOEY MURRAY
Dublin Coffman 2015, Kent State
Round 8, Pick 236, Toronto Blue Jays
Status: Signed

ANDREW MCDONALD
Mason 2013, Virginia Tech
Round 9, Pick 259, Cincinnati Reds
Status: Signed

MANNY RODRIGUEZ
Calvert Hall, Md., 2014, Cincinnati
Round 10, Pick 290, New York Mets
Status: Signed

NICK NORTHCUT
Mason 2018, Vanderbilt commit
Round 11, Pick 340, Boston Red Sox
Status: Signed

ROSS ADOLPH
Van Buren 2015, Toledo
Round 12, Pick 350, New York Mets
Status: Signed

BRAD WILSON
Northridge 2015, Ohio Dominican
Round 13, Pick 386, Toronto Blue Jays
Status: Signed

KEEGAN FISH
Lakota West 2018, Ohio State commit
Round 13, Pick 387, Miami Marlins
Status: Signed

NICK THWAITS
Fort Recovery 2018, Kent State commit
Round 15, Pick 441, San Diego Padres
Status: Unsigned

NICK ERNST
LaSalle 2015, Miami
Round 15, Pick 457, New York Yankees
Status: Signed

SAM BORDNER
Bloom Carroll 2015, Louisville
Round 16, Pick 477, Miami Marlins
Status: Signed

ALEX HOLDERBACH
Hamilton Badin 2015, Eastern Kentucky
Round 16, Pick 492, Houston Astros
Status: Signed

AUSTIN HAVEKOST
Medina 2015, Kent State
Round 17, Pick 506, Toronto Blue Jays
Status: Signed

MICHAEL WIELANSKY
Ladue, Mo., 2015, Wooster
Round 18, Pick 552, Houston Astros
Status: Signed

CALEB SAMPEN
Brownsburg, Ind., 2015, Wright State
Round 20, Pick 614, Los Angeles Dodgers
Status: Unsigned

GABE SNYDER
West Holmes 2013, Wright State
Round 21, Pick 634, Minnesota Twins
Status: Signed

JACOB BARNWELL
Boyd County, Ky., 2015, Ohio State
Round 22, Pick 666, Colorado Rockies
Status: Signed

CONNOR CURLIS
Findlay 2015, Ohio State
Round 24, Pick 709, Cincinnati Reds
Status: Expected to sign

HAYDEN SENGER
Lakota East 2015, Miami
Round 24, Pick 710, New York Mets
Status: Unsigned

PAVIN PARKS
Manchester 2015, Kent State
Round 24, Pick 711, San Diego Padres
Status: Staying at Kent

CAM ALLDRED
Country Day 2015, Cincinnati
Round 24, Pick 714, Pittsburgh Pirates
Status: Signed

ELI KRAUS
Buckeye 2014, Kent State
Round 24, Pick 723, St. Louis Cardinals
Status: Signed

LEE SOLOMON
Columbus Academy 2014, Lipscomb
Round 25, Pick 741, San Diego Padres
Status: Signed

PERRY DELLAVALLE
Brecksville 2014, Seton Hall
Round 27, Pick 813, St. Louis Cardinals
Status: Unsigned

GLEN RICHARDSON
Jackson 2016, Sinclair, Cincinnati commit
Round 29, Pick 869, Texas Rangers
Status: Signed

JT PEREZ
Orrville 2014, Cincinnati
Round 29, Pick 874, Minnesota Twins
Status: Unsigned

TYLER JOHNSON
Olentangy Orange 2015, Gardner Webb
Round 30, Pick 907, New York Yankees
Status: Unsigned

JAYCE VANCENA
Lake 2014, Michigan
Round 31, Pick 915, Detroit Tigers
Status: Unsigned

JUSTIN CHILDERS
Pickerington North 2014, Ohio Dominican
Round 33, Pick 975, Detroit Tigers
Status: Signed

COLE AYERS
West Clermont 2018, Kentucky commit
Round 36, Pick 1092, Houston Astros
Status: Will attend Kentucky

AUSTIN BECKER
Big Walnut 2018, Vanderbilt commit
Round 37, Pick 1109, Texas Rangers
Status: Will attend Vanderbilt