Locals among 1,525 chosen in MLB draft

Evan Thomas said he believes a faulty light on Poway High School’s baseball field led him to be part of Major League Baseball’s 2010 First-Year Player Draft.

The right-handed pitcher, who graduated from Poway High last week, was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 49th round — the draft’s penultimate round — making him the 1,490th pick overall out of 1,525 players chosen.

In a phone interview afterward, Thomas said he was honored to be a part of the draft, though he added that he’ll be turning down the offer and will be attending San Diego State University this fall.

“Playing for Major League Baseball has always been a dream of mine,” he said. “But as much as I’ve looked forward to playing there, I realize that I still have so much to learn about this game.”

He said he’s looking forward to developing his mental game with the Aztecs and to grow as a pitcher and to be ready his junior year should “the bigs” come calling again.

Thomas was the only Class of ‘10 member from Poway High or Rancho Bernardo to be part of the draft.

Thomas said his selection came as a complete surprise, especially after a lot of people who he thought would be drafted were not part of the process.

In fact, Thomas said he really wasn’t paying attention to the selection process, adding that he was in the middle of cleaning his room when he started to get calls.

Thomas said he first heard his house phone ring, but ignored the phone, then his cell phone rang and it was former Poway High pitching Coach Dominic Johnson.

“He told me about it and I was freaking out,” Thomas said. “Then my dad found out on the other phone and he called me over and he said, ‘guess what?’ and I told him that I knew.”

After that, Thomas said he started getting congratulatory calls and messages.

“It was such a big surprise to be up there with such good players,” Thomas said.

He added that the surprise provided a positive note on which to conclude his high school career, especially following Poway’s loss to Rancho Bernardo in the CIF San Diego Section Championship.

Thomas said he thinks scouts first noticed him when Poway played Rancho Buena Vista this season. The game was originally scheduled to take place at night, but there were problems with the field’s lights and the game was rescheduled.

Thomas said that when the game resumed, a lot of scouts where there to see RBV’s Tony Wolters and he threw 90 mph.

“There were a ton of scouts there and they started asking, ‘who is this guy?’ and started following me through the season,” Thomas said. “It was just a matter of being at the right place at the right time.”

Thomas said after he found out he had been drafted, he found out that he was selected two picks after 2007 Poway High graduate Dan Pellegrino, a catcher, who now plays at UC Riverside.

Pellegrino, the 1,488th pick, was chosen by the San Francisco Giants.

“I used to look up to him when he was a senior at Poway,” Thomas said. “He was really humble about himself and really good at talking to the players.”

In a phone interview, Pellegrino said he was overwhelmed to be chosen. He said he was following the draft on the MLB website, but as the process kept moving forward he thought his chances were dimming.

“I was trying to study for a final, but that wasn’t working out too well because I kept following the draft,” Pellegrino said. “Then I saw my name and the Giants called me right afterward.”

Pellegrino, who is off to Minnesota to play summer ball in the Northwoods League, said the Giants told him they would send the contract to the home of his host family.

He added that he intends to return to school to finish his degree and play another year at UC Riverside.

“Hopefully I will get drafted again, and hopefully a little bit higher, and then I can start my professional career,” Pellegrino said.

Pellegrino said most of this season he played behind Rob Brantly, who was chosen by the Detroit Tigers as the draft’s 100th overall pick.

Other players with local ties selected in the draft were:

• Greg Garcia, a junior shortstop at the University of Hawaii, was the draft’s 229th overall pick, chosen by the St. Louis Cardinals in the seventh round.

Garcia, who graduated from Valhalla High School, is the son of Poway resident Dave Garcia Jr. who was drafted by the New York Yankees and was a second baseman in their farm system.

His grandfather, Rancho Bernardo resident Dave Garcia, spent six decades in the major leagues as a coach, scout and manager for the California Angels (‘77-’78) and the Cleveland Indians (‘79-’82).

• Brett Bochy, a 2006 Poway High grad now a junior at Kansas University, was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 20th round, 618th overall. Bochy, who is the son of Poway resident and Giants manager Bruce Bochy, is a pitcher and missed the last two months of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

• The New York Yankees drafted Westview High grad Mike Hachadorian, a right-handed pitcher now at San Diego’s Mesa College, in the 33rd round (1,015). The Yankees also drafted Nick McCoy, a catcher at the University of San Diego and Westview graduate. McCoy, drafted in the 36th round, was the 1,105th overall pick.

• The Cleveland Indians drafted 2008 Poway High grad Mark Bradley in the 49th round. The outfielder, now a sophomore at Central Arizona College, was the 1,470th overall pick.

• James Dykstra, a 2008 Rancho Bernardo High graduate and a freshman at Yavapai College in Prescott, Ariz. was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 50th round. The pitcher and outfielder was the draft’s 1520th pick.

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Posted by unestidstwern on Jun 17 2010. Filed under Archive. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry