AURORA | The last day of the 2016 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft saw two more former Regis Jesuit High School standouts selected by big league clubs.
A day after former Raiders ace Peter Bayer was picked in the ninth round by the Tampa Bay Rays, 2016 graduates Bo Weiss and Quin Cotton had their names called Saturday before the 40-round draft concluded.
Weiss, a North Carolina signee who is the son of Colorado Rockies manager Walt Weiss, went to the New York Yankees in the 29th round. The Yankees spent the 878th overall pick on the 6-foot-3, 175-pound right-handed pitcher, who had the top record for coach Matt Darr’s 16-5 Regis Jesuit team.
Bo Weiss finished with a 7-1 record and 2.91 ERA, while he struck out 61 batters in a team-high 43 1/3 innings against just 15 walks.
Cotton, a speedy 5-11, 175-pound outfielder who has signed with Grand Canyon University, had his name called in the 38th round by the hometown Rockies.
Colorado used the 1,130rd selection on Cotton, who led his team with a .514 batting average, 36 hits (including 15 for extra bases), RBI (28) and runs scored (24), while playing an outstanding center field.
The Rockies brought in a total of five players with either Colorado prep or college ties, including 620th pick Tyler Bugner (a center fielder from Newman University), 710th pick John Hammer (a right-handed pitcher from Marshall University), 1,010th pick Wyatt Featherston (a center field from Green Mountain High School) and 1,160th pick Cuba Bess (a catcher/infielder from Fruita Monument High School).
The selection gives teams the right to negotiate contracts with the players, however if an agreement isn’t reached by a certain deadline, the players will head to the respective schools they’ve signed with.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
COLORADO PLAYERS TAKEN IN 2016 MLB DRAFT
A look at the players with Colorado ties (high school or college) taken in the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft (per MLB.com):
Round 2 — No. 49 (Chicago White Sox) Alec Hansen (RHP, Oklahoma/Loveland H.S., 6-foot-7, 236 pounds); Round 3 — No. 93 (Minnesota Twins) Griffin Jax (RHP, Air Force/Cherry Creek H.S., 6-2, 195); Round 4 — No. 118 (Boston Red Sox) Bobby Dalbec (3B, Arizona/Legend H.S., 6-4, 225); Round 6 — No. 172 (Oakland A’s) Brandon Bailey (RHP, Gonzaga/Broomfield H.S., 5-10, 175); Round 9 — NO. 270 (TAMPA BAY RAYS) PETER BAYER (RHP, Cal Poly Pomona/REGIS JESUIT H.S.), 6-4, 195); Round 10 — No. 287 (Philadelphia Phillies) Julian Garcia (RHP, Metro State College, 6-3, 185); Round 12 — No. 373 (Kansas City Royals) Jeremy Gwinn (RHP, Colby CC/Woodland Park H.S., 6-5, 195); Round 21 — No. 620 (Colorado Rockies) Tyler Bugner (CF, Newman U, 6-2, 195); Round 21 — No. 640 (New York Mets) Maxwell Kuhns (RHP, Santa Clara, 6-3, 210); Round 23 — No. 695 (San Francisco Giants) Jacob Greenwalt (RHP, Windsor H.S., 6-1, 170); Round 24 — No. 710 (Colorado Rockies) John Hammer (RHP, Marshall, 6-3, 215); Round 28 — No. 829 (Atlanta Braves) Nick Schumpert (2B, San Jacinto College North/Highlands Ranch H.S., 5-11, 180); Round 29 — No. 866 (Chicago White Sox) Earl Henderson (1B, Central Arizona, 6-3, 215); Round 29 — No. 873 (Minnesota Twins) Dane Hutcheon (SS, Montevallo, 5-9, 177); Round 29 — No. 878 (NEW YORK YANKEES) BO WEISS (RHP, REGIS JESUIT H.S., 6-3, 175); Round 30 — No. 892 (Oakland A’s) Nick Highberger (RHP, Creighton, 5-10, 190); Round 30 — No. 907 (Houston Astros) Brody Westmoreland (3B, College of So. Nevada/ThunderRidge H.S., 6-3, 200); Round 33 — No. 1,002 (Toronto Blue Jays) Brayden Bouchey (RHP, Louisiana-Monroe, 6-6, 212); Round 33 — No. 1,004 (Chicago Cubs) Nathan Sweeney (RHP, Cherry Creek H.S., 6-4, 185); Round 34 — No. 1,010 (Colorado Rockies) Wyatt Featherstone (CF, Green Mountain H.S., 6-1, 195); Round 36 — No. 1,088 (New York Yankees) Tyler Honahan (LHP, SUNY Stony Brook, 6-3, 195); Round 37 — No. 1,114 (Washington Nationals) Cory Voss (C, McLennan CC, 5-10, 190); Round 38 — No. 1,130 (COLORADO ROCKIES) QUIN COTTON (CF, REGIS JESUIT H.S., 5-11, 175); Round 39 — No. 1,160 (Colorado Rockies) Cuba Bess (C, Fruita Monument H.S., 6-2, 200)