Bubble wrap, America's decadent pleasure

Before the wine glasses get unwrapped and the Labor Day barbecue gets fired up, the Draft & Follow Season Wrap continues.

• 11th round - Sam Honeck: the college 1B spent the season in Brooklyn and finished with a .250/.339/.305 line in 236 at bats.  The lefty hitter fared best versus RH pitchers with a line of .281/.368/.357.  He tailed off after the NYPL All-Star break, hitting just .176 after that.  Honeck led the Cyclones in total at bats, and was 1 of 6 Cyclones in the NYPL All-Star game.

• 12th round - James Ewing: the college 2B spent the season with Brooklyn but did not play much, seeing all his action from July 1 - July 5.  He had 2 hits, both doubles, in 14 at bats for a .143 batting average.

• 13th round - Zachary Dotson: the HS LHP signed on deadline day, was assigned to the GCL but did not see game action.

• 14th round - Ronald Harris: the college CF had a fine season with Kingsport and earned a late promotion to Brooklyn.  In Kingsport Harris had a .293/.383/.418 line in 184 at bats.  He stole 13 bases in 18 attempts.  In 4 games with Brooklyn he has 3 hits including 1 double in 11 at bats for a .273 average.

• 16th round - Chase Greene: the HS CF got into 22 games for the GCL Mets, posting a line of .286/.361/.397 in 63 at bats.  He finished strong with a .333/.385/.458 line in 48 August at bats.

Jeffrey "Chase" Greene

• 17th round - Alex Gregory: the OF from perennial powerhouse Radford University spent the season with Brooklyn and put up a .278/.349/.417 line in 144 at bats.  Gregory spent some time at 1B as well as in the OF and flanked a poor month of July with fine performances in June and August with monthly OPS numbers of .840 and .892 surrounding his July OPS of .624.

• 18th round - Cody Holliday: the college OF did not have a good season when healthy, and finished the year on the disabled list.  His line for the GCL Mets was .175/.327/.275 in 4o at bats.

• 19th round - Nelfi Zapata: the HS C was a favorite of mine due to his name, his stature (6′ 0″, 203) and his power hitting exploits as a high schooler.  Zapata appeared in 35 games for the GCL Mets, and finished with a line of .261/.341/.370 in 119 at bats, hitting just 1 home run.  He started off on fire, hitting .533 in June, but cooled to .246 in July and froze at .186 in August.  He did not fare well on the road but in home games had a line of .309/.409/.455.  With 4 catchers on the roster manager Julio Franco used Zapata as his primary catcher.

• 20th round - Joseph August: the college OF started his career in Brooklyn but after playing 3 games was moved to the full-season class A Savannah Sand Gnats and wound up with the 6th most at bats of 7 OF on the roster despite joining the team 2 1/2 months after it’s season started.  With the season winding down in Savannah he currently has a line of .210/.270/.290 in 124 at bats.  The lefty hitter is batting a mere .196 against RH pitchers.

Gulf Coast League

• The GCL Mets beat the GCL Cardinals 6-2 Monday.  3 2009 draftees played.  Chase Greene started in RF batting leadoff.  In the 5th inning he reached on a fielder’s choice and came around to score, going 0 for 3 before being replaced in the 7th inning by ZeErika Hall who doubled and scored in the 7th to go 1 for 1.  C Camden Maron walked in the 2nd and hit a 2-run double in the 6th to go 1 for 3.  See the box score and recap for more.

Appalachian League

• The Bristol Sox beat the Kingsport Mets 4-3 Monday.  3 2009 draftees played.  CF Darrell Ceciliani was hit by a pitch in the 7th inning and stole his 13th base of the season, but was 0 for 3 in his official at bats.  LF Ronald Harris singled and scored in the 6th to go 1 for 3.  3B Joseph Bonfe had an RBI single in the 4th to go 1 for 4.  For more see the box score and recap.

New York-Penn League

• The Vermont Lake Monsters beat the Brooklyn Cyclones 7-6 Monday.  3 2009 draftees played.  P Darin Gorski started and threw 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 3.  He received no decision.  1B Sam Honeck walked in the 1st inning and finished 0 for 4.  SS Robbie Shields had an RBI single and came around to score in the 6th, going 1 for 4.  See the game story, box score and recap for more.
• The latest entry in Wes Wrenn’s diary is up.

South Atlantic League

• The Rome Braves beat the Savannah Sand Gnats 5-3 Monday.  2 2009 draftess played.  P John Church threw 2 scoreless innings of relief, allowing 2 hits while striking out 2.  RF Joseph August was 0 for 4.  For more see the game story, box score and recap.

Gulf Coast League

• The GCL Marlins beat the GCL Mets 4-2 Sunday.  4 2009 draftees played.  P Taylor Whitenton threw 2 scoreless innings, allowing 3 walks.  RF Chase Greene went 0 for 5 at the plate.  1B Travis Ozga reached on an error in the 6th inning and walked in the 8th as part of his 0 for 3 game.  He also dropped a pick off throw for his 5th error of the season.  LF ZeErika Hall walked in the 2nd, doubled and came around to score in the 4th to go 1 for 3.  See the box score and recap for more.

Appalachian League

• The Kingsport Mets won a doubleheader at the Bristol Sox Sunday.  In the 2-1 first game win, 5 2009 draftees played.  P Brian Needham picked up his 1st hold of the season with 1 inning of scoreless relief.  He allowed 1 hit and recorded 1 strikeout.  3B Joseph Bonfe was 0 for 3 at the plate.  C John Freeman, DH Ronald Harris and CF Darrell Ceciliani all singled to go 1 for 3.  See the box score and recap for more.
• In the 5-4 second game victory, 7 2009 draftees played.  P Thomas Chism picked up his 1st hold of the season with 2/3 scoreless innings.  He allowed 1 hit and 1 walk.  Harris played CF in this game and had a 3rd inning single and a 4th inning sacrifice fly in going 1 for 3.  Bonfe played 1B and walked in the 1st and singled in the 5th to go 1 for 3.  3B James Schroeder was 0 for 4 with a 3rd inning RBI ground out.  RF Kurt Steinhauer singled and scored in the 4th to go 1 for 3.  LF John Semel had an RBI single in the 4th and came around to score to go 1 for 4.  2B Ryan Mollica singled in the 1st and singled and scored in the 5th to go 2 for 4.  For more see the box score and recap.

New York-Penn League

• The Brooklyn Cyclones won a doubleheader at the Aberdeen IronBirds Sunday.  In the 1st game, a 5-0 victory, Brandon Moore threw a 7 inning complete game no-hitter.  Moore was taken in the 14th round of the 2008 draft but I couldn’t hold his draft year against him considering the no-hitter.  3 2009 draftees played.  DH Nick Santomauro was 0 for 2 with a walk.  SS Robbie Shields singled in the 3rd inning and was hit by a pitch and scored in the 7th as part of his 1 for 2 game.  1B Alex Gregory had a 4th inning RBI double and singled and scored in the 7th to go 2 for 3.  See the game story, box score and recap for more.
• In the 5-1 second game victory, Shields had a 6th inning double to go 1 for 3 and Gregory walked in the 4th and singled and scored in the 6th to go 1 for 2.  For more see the box score and recap.

South Atlantic League

• The Savannah Sand Gnats beat the Rome Braves 5-4 Sunday.  2009 draftee RF Joseph August was 0 for 3.  See the game story, box score and recap for more.

Gulf Coast League

• The GCL Mets beat the GCL Astros 3-2 Saturday.  2 2009 draftees played.  ZeErika Hall came on for defense in LF in the 9th inning but did not have a plate appearance.  RF Chase Greene walked and scored in the 1st inning, singled in the 3rd and had an RBI single in the 7th to go 2 for 3.  See the box score and recap for more.
• GCL Met pitcher Santiago Valdez has been suspended for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.

Appalachian League

• The Kingsport Mets beat the Bluefield Orioles 3-1 Saturday.  4 2009 draftees played.  P Zachary Von Tersch (2-0) picked up the win with 2 innings of scoreless relief.  Von Tersch allowed no hits or walks, and recorded 1 strikeout.  CF Darrell Ceciliani and LF Ronald Harris were both 0 for 4.  3B Joseph Bonfe singled in the 1st and the 9th to go 2 for 4.  See the box score and recap for more.

South Atlantic League

• The Savannah Sand Gnats beat the Rome Braves 7-4 Saturday.  2009 draftee Joseph August played both LF and RF defensively, and at the plate he had a 2-run double in the 2nd inning and came around to score, and also had an RBI fielder’s choice in the 3rd inning as part of his 1 for 4 game.  For more see the box score and recap.

"Every time I thought I'd got it made it seemed the taste was not so sweet"

Due to some ch-ch-ch-ch-changes in my schedule, the “Draft & Follow” will be moving from it’s normal time slot at 11:00am.  For the remainder of the minor league season it will be published in the late afternoon/early evening, so both of you who read it please look for it there.  Thanks to all of you who’ve taken the time to check it out and “Lets Go Future Mets!”

Gulf Coast League

• The GCL Nationals beat the GCL Mets 7-2 Thursday.  5 2009 draft picks played.  P Taylor Whitenton threw a scoreless inning, allowing only a walk while recording 1 strikeout.  Chase Greene started the game in RF and was 1 for 3 with a 1st inning single at the plate.  In the 5th inning ZeErika Hall replaced Greene in RF and Hall was 0 for 2 at the plate.  1B Travis Ozga singled in the 2nd inning and doubled in the 7th to go 2 for 4.  C Nelfi Zapata doubled and scored in the 2nd and singled in the 4th to go 2 for 4.  See the box score and recap for more.

Appalachian League

• The Kingsport Mets beat the Bluefield Orioles 9-3 Thursday.  4 2009 draftees played.  Darrell Ceciliani started in CF and was 0 for 2 at the plate.  Kurt Steinhauer replaced him in CF in the 4th inning.  He hit an RBI double in the 6th to go 1 for 3.  3B Joseph Bonfe was 0 for 5.  DH Ronald Harris singled and scored in the 4th, walked in the 5th and singled in the 9th to go 2 for 4.  For more see the box score and recap.

New York-Penn League

• The Brooklyn Cyclones beat the State College Spikes 4-3 Thursday.  3 2009 draftees played.  LF Nick Santomauro was 0 for 5.  1B Sam Honeck singled in the 1st inning and walked in the 9th to go 1 for 4.  SS Robbie Shields had an RBI single in the 4th and walked in the 9th to go 1 for 4.  See the box score and recap for more.

Appalachian League

• The Kingsport Mets beat the Princeton Rays 7-0 Monday.  2 2009 draft picks played.  CF Darrell Ceciliani singled and scored in the 1st inning, singled and stole his 12th base of the season in the 3rd and was hit by a pitch in the 6th as part of his 2 for 4 game.  DH Ronald Harris singled and scored in the 1st and singled and scored in the 6th to go 2 for 4.  See the box score and recap for more.

Deadline 2009 First Year Player Draft Signings

• 2nd rounder Steven Matz signed per Jon Heyman of Twitter, MLB.com has a brief article with some video attached of Matz

• 9th rounder Jeff Glenn signed per Jim Callis of Baseball America

• 13th rounder Zach Dotson signed per Jim Callis of Baseball America

• TRDMB condolences go out to reader WannyBackstra - their is no news of a Damien Magnifico signing

In summary then, below is a list (to the best of my amateur knowledge) of 2009 draft picks and their signed/unsigned status:

1. (no first round pick)
2. Steven Matz - signed
3. Robbie Shields - signed
4. Darrell Ceciliani - signed
5. Damien Magnifico - unsigned
6. David Buchanan - unsigned
7. Darin Gorski - signed
8. John Freeman - signed
9. Jeff Glenn - signed
10. Nick Santomauro - signed
11. Sam Honeck - signed
12. James Ewing - signed
13. Zach Dotson - signed
14. Ronald Harris - signed
15. Casey Schmidt  - unsigned
16. Jeff “Chase” Greene - signed
17. Alex Gregory - signed
18. Cody Holliday -  signed
19. Nelfi Zapata - signed
20. Joseph August - signed
21. Joseph Bonfe - signed
22. Zachary Von Tersch - signed
23. John Church - signed
24. Michael Johnson - signed
25. Josh Dunn - signed
26. John Semel  - signed
27. Kurt Steinhauer - signed
28. Brian Needham - signed
29. ZeErika Hall - signed
30. Jordan Harrison - unsigned
31. Mitchell Haniger - unsigned
32. Thomas Chism - signed
33. James Schroeder - signed
34. Camden Maron - signed
35. Wes Wrenn - signed
36. Lance Hoge - signed
37. Brandon Sage - signed
38. William Cherry - signed
39. Anthony “Taylor” Whitenton - signed
40. Jerome Pena - unsigned
41. Travis Ozga - signed
42. Ryan Gunhouse - unsigned
43. Robert Rinard - unsigned
44. James Wooster - unsigned
45. Jacob Johansen - unsigned
46. John Pilkington  - unsigned
47. Ryan Mollica - signed
48. Joseph Mantiply - unsigned
49. Joshua Easley - unsigned
50. Zachary Godley - unsigned

Please understand the “signed/unsigned” designations are unofficial and simply “to the best of my knowledge.”  You can find a more thorough and official listing at Baseball America. Those that were signed before yesterday can be found on the rosters of either the GCL Mets, the Kingsport Mets, the Brooklyn Cyclones or the Savannah Sand Gnats.

Links that were initially found around draft day in June to information about many but not all of these players can be accessed at Picks 1-30 and Picks 31 -50.