It took until the third day of the 2015 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft, but three players from Aurora high school finally were selected.
The San Diego Padres used their 33rd round draft pick on former Eaglecrest pitcher Braxton Lorenzini, a right-hander now at West Hills College in Coalinga, California, as the first of three locals to have their name called Wednesday.
Unlike last year, when the hometown Colorado Rockies took former Regis Jesuit star infielder Max George in the sixth round, it took 986 players going off the board before San Diego used the No. 987th overall pick on the 6-foot-3, 175-pound Lorenzini, who posted a 1-7 record with a 4.30 ERA last season for West Hills College.
Most encouragingly, Lorenzini averaged nearly a strikeout per inning with 55 whiffs in 58 2/3 innings pitched.
Lorenzini had a medical redshirt year in 2014 at NAIA Central Christian College after graduating from coach Tory Humphrey’s Eaglecrest program.
Two recent Regis Jesuit graduates and Division I recruits, infielder Matt Schmidt and pitcher Brent Schwarz, went a few rounds after Lorenzini.
Schmidt, a University of Texas signee who is the son of Colorado Rockies vice president of scouting Bill Schmidt, went to the New York Yankees in the 37th round with the No. 1,113th overall pick. The Yankees took Schmidt’s older brother, Andrew, in the 38th round of the 2013 draft.
Schwarz, who has signed with Rice University, got the call 44 picks later when the hometown Rockies took him 1,157th or second in the 39th round.
Colorado is managed by former Regis Jesuit coach Walt Weiss and continues to draft players from the school. The Rockies took two Regis Jesuit players in 2013 in Weiss’ son Brody and Cole Norton, then went with George last season.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or [email protected] Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
