by Vinny Messana, Editor-In-Chief
After watching every local college team multiple times and every elite high school senior at least once–along with talking with people in the know– I feel comfortable making this list.
It will be listed in alphabetical order because there are other factors that play into where a player is selected; signability, character and health being the three biggest ones that could drop a top-talent into Day 3 of the draft.
Here’s my guess as to who are the pro-caliber players that are draft-eligible this year with Long Island roots.
Joe Daru, NYIT
The knocks against Daru are unfair in my opinion–he’s a fifth-year senior and he’s too short. He can simply play and he certainly used those critics as fuel for his 2016 season. He was unstoppable at the plate and on the base paths. He slugged .603 (21 XBH) and led the team in virtually every offensive category. He hit six home runs, drove in 30 runs from the lead off spot and went 24-for-27 stealing bases. Tremendous athlete, he’s the type of player you take a chance on because of his work ethic and perseverance just as much as his ability.
Matt Diaz, NYIT
Diaz did not dominate this season–he compiled a 4.44 ERA–but he opened eyes when he hit 95 MPH at a recent pre-draft workout. He did strike out 49 over 48.2 IP and allowed less than a hit per inning. He has a muscular build and could probably add a couple ticks if he got more drive from his back side. He could also be converted into a reliever at the next level and overpower batters.
Anthony Gatto, UMBC
The Hauppauge native is a fifth-year senior at a position that requires power. While his four HRs this season do not jump off the page, he has excellent control of the strike zone–and teams value that greatly. Over 493 career collegiate at bats, he struck out 72 times and drew 60 walks. He can also move, he was successful on 48-of-58 stolen base tries in his career. His .387 OBP is impressive as well. A forward-thinking team like the Astros could value his unique skillset and take a chance while overlooking the fact that he hasn’t hit double-digit home runs in his career. He just narrowly missed a HR in the Battle of the Border, showing his strength is there.
Nick Girardi, St. Joseph’s
Girardi could become the first player in program history to get drafted–no small feat for any player. He is a unique case. While he has been more productive in his career as a hitter, his draft value is as a southpaw with elite velocity. His control abandoned him during the season–38 walks in 27.1 IP, but recently he has discovered his command. He walked none in the Battle of the Border and displayed his typical velocity that allowed him to fan 51 batters this season (16.79 per nine innings). His mechanics are very clean (eerily similar to Scott Kazmir) which makes his control puzzling, but perhaps it just took longer than usual to click. He has been working with a new pitching coach that appears to have unlocked the vast potential. A few teams have been in on him. His work ethic is second-to-none, which leads me to believe he willed himself to revitalizing his career.
Deilyn Guzman, Molloy
Guzman had 70 hits and 29 stolen bases, but his value is in his ability on the mound. Despite less-than-dominating numbers as a pitcher this year, he has been lighting up the radar guns recently and turning heads. There’s a market for that. He dominated on the mound last year (1.29 ERA) so he has shown the ability to get outs. Every team loves to have an abundance of 95 MPH throwers and Guzman fits the criteria. He is a gifted athlete that could do anything asked of him.
Dan Jagiello, LIU Post
In the preseason, his name was everywhere. After pitching in the Cape Cod in 2015 and lighting up the radar gun, every team was on him. Then, he got off to a rough start to the season with three consecutive poor outings and seemingly everyone forgot about him. That was the turning point for him. After that point, he began missing bats and going deep into games. He finished with a 7-3 record and a 3.64 ERA and 70 Ks over 66.2 IP. The only number that jumps out as a red flag is the 24 XBH he allowed which led the staff. Pitchers of his ilk generate lots of uncomfortable at bats, so that’s bizarre to see. Still, the West Islip grad has the ideal size and heater of a pro-caliber pitcher. Velocity still plays.
Anthony Kay, UCONN
He is the best player on this list. The Ward Melville grad has a striking resemblance in terms of pitching to another hometown hero–Steven Matz. There will be no shortage of baseball analysts mentioning this if the Mets do end up selecting him. There has been chatter that he could go in the end of the first round and ironically, the Mets own the No. 31 overall pick. They selected him out of high school so it would be no surprise. He is 9-2 with a 2.65 ERA and 111 Ks over 119.0 IP for the Huskies this season. He already has Team USA on his resume as well as Long Island champion. The Anthony Kay watch is already on.
Sam Kessler, Mount Sinai
“Sammy the K” had a dynamite season, leading the Mustangs to their first ever Suffolk County Class A championship. He won eight games on the hill and confounded hitters all season with his fastball-slider combo. He has clean, repeatable mechanics similar to A.J. Burnett. He is committed to West Virginia University, but he made mince meat of Long Island hitters this season. There’s been a lot of interest in him. He is as fiery of a competitor as there is on the mound.
Cody McPartland, Dowling
The Miller Place grad is technically a free agent right now, which makes his situation more intriguing. He has been getting courted by all the top programs considering his stellar finish to the season after a mediocre start. He was 0-4 to start the season and hitters were batting over .300 against him, but then he turned it around completely as the weather began to warm up. His last six starts were phenomenal, and most impressively he shut out Southern New Hampshire in the regionals with nine Ks and dominated Molloy in the ECC Playoffs with 7.2 strong innings. He has the ideal pitcher’s build and has great command of his slider along with his high-octane heater. He’s also very durable, having thrown 95.0 innings and eclipsing eight innings on five separate occasions. He has the bulldog mentality of his mentor–Tyler Badamo.
Jonathon Mulford, Adelphi
It was nothing short of shocking that Mulford didn’t get drafted following his utterly dominant 2015 season in which we named him to the All-Long Island team. He compiled a 1.76 ERA and was every bit of an ace. He did not, however, follow up that this season. He took a back seat to T.J. Santiago in the rotation. Now, it wasn’t a completely lost season. He did have a 69:14 K:BB ratio over 73.1 IP, but the downside was that he allowed 88 hits and that is surprising considering his past success and the wood bat conference. He still has the great overhand curve and high 80s fastball. He has the size and the clean mechanics. I wouldn’t completely rule out a team looking at his junior season and hoping they could get him to regain that form. As a senior, that helps his chances.
Straton Podaras, Chaminade
A defensive wizard that was talented enough to force the school to waive their policy of no-underclassmen-on varsity two years ago. He negates the running game, blocks everything in the dirt and handles the bat. His defensive prowess could probably warrant getting drafted without factoring his offensive ability. He is committed to Radford University, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t step foot on campus.
Thomas Roulis, Dartmouth
The New Hyde Park native had a stellar season. He led Dartmouth in hitting at .328 and committed only three errors in the field. He has extremely fluid movements in the field and has a strong arm. With his bat control and ability to play the field, there’s no reason a team should dislike what he brings to the table.
T.J. Santiago, Adelphi
It was the exact opposite story of Mulford. Santiago had a mediocre 2015 season but rebounded with a dynamic 2016 in which he was the horse for Adelphi. He wasted no time, firing a complete game in his third start of the season. He never looked back and finished with a 6-2 record and a 2.54 ERA over 74.1 IP. His stock is very high right now. What makes him even more attractive is his deceptive delivery that still allows for a hard and heavy fastball that induces plenty of ground balls. He had only one bad start this season. Adelphi would love to have him back, but he could be a guy that hears his name called.
Matt Seelinger, Farmingdale State
Seelinger put himself on the radar with a terrific run from March 29 on that allowed him to be named Skyline Conference Pitcher of the Year. One of his best traits–his bulldog mentality–cost him and made his ERA raise. After throwing a dominant outing in the conference playoffs against St. Joseph’s, he wanted the ball in relief to force a do-or-die game. After throwing a lights-out inning, he got hit around in the second inning of relief. On one day rest after throwing over 100 pitches, that’s a lot to ask of anyone. What makes him so appealing is his high-octane fastball and his power curve. Not many pitchers at any level can throw a curve in the 80s and also control it. That mix is enticing to teams. He also refined his command and struck out more than a batter per inning.
Kyle Young, St. Dominic’s
At 6’10”, he already had the attention of scouts. Then he added a couple more ticks to his velocity, refined his command and improved his change up. I watched him pitch twice this season. His first outing was dominant–eight Ks in four innings with no runs. He struggled with his command in the second outing, walking five batters, but he showed some maturation as he made the big pitches when necessary. Young is a near-lock to get drafted, it’s just a matter of whether his commitment to college is strong enough to pass up playing professional baseball. He told me a couple weeks ago that his priority is to attend college. It remains to be seen whether six figures changes that.
