After two days and 30 rounds, 32 Valley League alumni have been selected in Major League Baseball’s Amateur Draft.
Former Covington Lumberjack Jason Kipnis was the first former VBLer to go, being picked up in the second round, 63rd overall, by the Indians. Kipnis played for the Lumberjacks in the 2006 and 2007 seasons before jumping to the Cape Cod League. Tyler Townsend (Winchester) followed in the third round when the Orioles selected him.
John Leonard, co-owner of the Waynesboro Generals and publisher of Valley League fan site All Things Valley League, tracks the VBL’s progress in the draft and said that Kipnis’ selection can only help boost the league’s credibility.
“When you have a player in the top-100, that’s a real plus for the league,” he said. “The large media will focus on the fact that he played in the Cap Cod [in 2008], but he made his leap in the Valley League.”
The Waynesboro Generals have only had two players go in the draft through its second day with Jason Cowan going in the 10th round to Baltimore with the 296th overall pick and fan-favorite Bandon Sizemore getting picked in the 30th round, 916th overall, by the Brewers.
“[Cowan] has a very good arm,” Leonard said. “He can run it up to the low or mid 90s, which is why he went were he did.
“Anytime you have a middle infielder hit like [Sizemore] and play his position well, he should get a shot at pro ball. Last year, I wasn’t [an owner] but I saw him as the glue that held the team together. I would take a shot on him as a major league GM, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon.”
After 30 rounds, Leonard said that the VBL is on track to put up strong draft numbers again.
“I think we have done pretty well,” Leonard said. “The last couple years we tended to end up with around one per round, and after the first 30 rounds we have [32] and I imagine I might have missed a few. We are right around where we expect we should be.”
New Market currently leads the VBL in total players selected with five.
The MLB draft will continue today at 11:30 a.m.
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