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Valley-record five baseball players drafted
Special to the Vindicator
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Anthony Rohan (6) of Ursuline slides safely into second base on a steal, beating the tag of Champion’s second basemen, Tyler Chinchic.
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BASEBALL - (5) Harrison Finelli of Ursuline puts the tag on (21) Boo Vazquez during a recent game
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Todd Kibby of Springfield
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On Tuesday, Austintown Fitch graduate Steven Gruver was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the seventh round of the MLB draft.
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Akron center fielder Drew Turocy is set to swing during a recent game. The 2007 graduate of Canfield High was selected by the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday in the MLB Draft.
By Joe Scalzo
After several hours of hoping and pacing, waiting and muttering, Eddie Rohan finally turned off his computer late Wednesday afternoon, sat on his couch and started wondering whether his dream of playing professional baseball was about to end.
“Toward the end, I started thinking ... I don’t know,” said Rohan, an Ursuline High graduate whose first cousin, Greg, was a 21st-round selection by the Cubs two years ago. “I was trying to think of my other options [besides baseball].
“I just wanted a chance.”
With just 19 picks left in the 50-round baseball draft, he got it. That’s when Rohan’s father, Ed, saw the New York Mets’ selection and started screaming.
“It was a major relief,” said Rohan, a four-year standout at catcher and outfield at Winthrop who was chosen 1,512th overall. “I didn’t care if it was the 50th round or I was picked dead last.”
Rohan was one of five Mahoning Valley players drafted this week — the area’s biggest haul since the draft began in 1965 — while YSU senior pitcher Phil Klein became the third Penguin drafted in the past two years, and 18th in school history.
Rohan batted a team-best .342 this spring and led Winthrop in virtually every offensive category. He was one of three Valley natives picked on Wednesday’s final day, joining Cardinal Mooney senior Boo Vazquez (Colorado Rockies) and Springfield High graduate Todd Kibby (White Sox), who played junior college baseball for the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Titans.
On Tuesday, Fitch High graduate Steven Gruver was picked by the Twins out of Tennessee and Canfield High graduate Andrew Turocy was drafted by the Red Sox out of Akron.
This is the first time the Valley has had more than three players drafted in the same year.
Kibby, who becomes the first Springfield player to get drafted, originally planned to attend Bowling Green after graduating two years ago but had transcript issues. So, a week before classes began, he attended a tryout in St. Petersburg and impressed the coach, earning a full ride. He went 4-4 with a 4.17 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 69 innings this spring after throwing just 15 last spring. That low mileage, combined with his versatility (he started and relieved this year) and age (he doesn’t turn 20 until August) made him attractive to scouts.
“The White Sox called me and said, ‘I see you slipped past where you want to go, what would it take for you to sign?’” said Kibby, who was also considering several Division II college offers. “I gave them a number and they said, ‘We’ll see what we can do.’
“I was gonna make a decision [about college] but they made the decision for me.”
Chicago chose him in the 37th round with the 1,131st overall pick. Soon afterward, his coach with the Ohio Glaciers called him and said, “Congratulations. You want to throw today?”
Kibby pitched four innings for the Glaciers in the first game of a doubleheader, then spent the rest of the time on his phone in the dugout.
“My mom started calling the whole family, even distant relatives,” he said. “I think she was more excited than I was at first. Now it’s starting to sink that I’m going to go play pro baseball in five days.”
Vazquez was picked in the 38th round (1,158th overall) after leading the Cardinals in batting with a .533 average this season. Vazquez, who moved to Youngstown from Orlando, Fla., in eighth grade, had just got out of the batting cages Wednesday when he found out he’d been picked.
“I didn’t really know what was going on,” he said. “I checked my phone on a water break and saw I missed a bunch of calls from my parents. I talked to them and then I got a call from the [Rockies’] scout.”
“It was a pretty stressful process. There were a lot of scouts coming to games and a lot of phone calls and things like that. It’s an honor to be drafted but it’s also nice to have it out of the way.”
Vazquez has a “pretty hefty” baseball scholarship with Pitt and said his decision to attend college or turn pro will come down to the signing bonus. The Aug. 15 signing deadline is 10 days before he needs to report for classes.
“It’s a good situation either way I look at it,” he said.