18 more locals picked on final day of MLB Draft, bringing total to 23

Chaparral’s Keenan Eaton was among locals selected in the 2014 MLB Draft. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com

A slew of local products, including a host of 2014 graduates, were selected on the third and final day of the MLB Draft on Saturday.

Eighteen former Colorado high school baseball players were taken, bringing the total number of local products who were drafted this year to 23. Of those 23, 12 just completed their senior season this spring.

True to Colorado’s history, 14 of the draftees are pitchers.

Saturday was a good day for 2014 graduates. Ten of them went:

• Ralston Valley’s Jordan Holloway
• Grand Junction’s Owen Taylor
• Rocky Mountain’s Carl Stajduhar
• Regis Jesuit’s David Peterson
• Pueblo South’s Cory Voss
• Mountain Vista’s Nick Leonard
• ThunderRidge’s Brody Westmoreland
• Fairview’s Ryan Kokora
• Legacy’s Lucas Gilbreath
• Chaparral’s Keenan Eaton

In addition, eight more alumni were selected out of college on Saturday. Those are:

• Thomas Jefferson alum Brennan Henry
• Arvada West grad Gavin Glanz
• Rock Canyon grad Tanner Krietemeier
• Montrose alum Nate Robertson
• Rocky Mountain alum Jess Amedee
• Resurrection Christian grad Jordan Piche
• Fairview alum Tucker Tharp
• Ponderosa grad Keegan Ghidotti

Kyle Freeland, a 2011 graduate of Thomas Jefferson, was picked by the Rockies with the No. 8 overall selection on Thursday. Friday, four local kids were picked, led by 2014 Evergreen grad Brock Burke.

Saturday, Henry was the first local off the board. He went in the 17th round to the Kansas City Royals at No. 513 overall.

A 6-foot-4, 205-pound left-handed pitcher, Henry was picked out of Bellevue (Neb.) University, where he just finished his junior season. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson in 2010, then went on to play two seasons at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling.

Henry just finished his junior season at Bellevue, an NAIA school, where he was 9-2 with a 3.59 ERA in 77 2/3 innings pitched. He struck out 101 against 51 walks.

Ralston Valley’s Jordan Holloway was a 17th-round pick in the MLB Draft on Saturday. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com

Holloway was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 20th round, becoming just the third local 2014 graduate taken in this draft. He went with the No. 587 overall pick.

At 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, Holloway is a sizeable right-handed pitcher. He was 6-1 with a 2.60 ERA in 43 innings during his season year at Ralston Valley, and struck out 50 batters, while walking 26.

But Holloway also played third base for the Mustangs, and made plenty of noise with his bat. He hit .419 with five home runs and 25 RBIs. Included was a three-homer, nine-RBI game against Standley Lake on April 19.

Holloway is a Nebraska-Omaha recruit.

Glanz, a 2010 graduate of Arvada West, was the third Colorado product taken by the Rockies this year when he went to the local club in the 23rd round with the No. 683 overall pick.

A 6-foot-2, 205-pound right-handed pitcher, Glanz played two seasons at Seward (Kan.) Community College before heading to Oral Roberts. As a junior this year, Glanz was 3-5 with a 3.27 ERA and 50 strikeouts to 30 walks.

Glanz’s father, Scott, was also drafted, going to the Angels in the 13th round in 1982.

Later in the 23rd round, the Atlanta Braves took 2010 Rock Canyon graduate Tanner Krietemeier, a first baseman.

Krietemeier spent his freshman season at Nebraska, then moved to Iowa Western CC as a sophomore. He transferred to Oklahoma State as a junior, and just completed his senior season there.

This season, Krietemeier hit .275 with 10 home runs and 52 RBIs.

As the draft hit the 27th and 28th rounds, six further Colorado products went in quick succession. The group was selected over a span of 50 picks.

Taylor, a 2014 Grand Junction grad, went to the Toronto Blue Jays in the 27th round, No. 804 overall. He’s a 6-foot-2, 200-pound first baseman, and is a Kansas recruit. Taylor hit .266 with 15 RBIs this season.

Robertson graduated from Montrose in 2011, and also played basketball for the Indians. He was a 27th round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and went No. 810 overall.

A 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior shortstop, Robertson hit .356 with six home runs and 48 RBIs this season as the Mavericks made the Division II final. He also stole 25 bases on 28 attempts.

Amedee is a 2011 alum of Rocky Mountain, and was part of multiple championships with the Lobos. The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted him in the 27th round, as well, at No. 821 overall.

After graduating, Amedee went to Northern Colorado, Central Arizona Community College and spent last season, his junior year, at Texas-Arlington. A right-handed pitcher who stands 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, he was 1-4 with a 6.52 ERA in 48 1/3 innings as a junior.

Rocky Mountain’s Carl Stajduhar went in the 27th round. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com

Stajduhar went two picks after Amedee at No. 823 overall, becoming a 27th-round pick of the Braves. A 2014 graduate, he led Rocky Mountain to the Class 5A championship this spring, capping a brilliant career.

As a senior, Stajduhar hit .489 and led the state with 13 home runs and 51 RBIs. He is a New Mexico recruit.

Piche went to the Los Angeles Angeles in the 28th round, No. 854 overall. He’s a 6-foot-1, 180-pound right-handed pitcher who graduated from Resurrection Christian in 2010 and is now at Kansas.

Prior to becoming a Jayhawk, Piche spent two seasons at Indian Hills CC in Iowa — which is where Fountain-Fort Carson graduate Nick Green was drafted out of in the seventh round Friday.

As a senior this past season, Piche went 6-5 with a 4.59 ERA in 82 1/3 innings. He had 69 strikeouts to 29 walks.

Next off the board was Regis Jesuit pitcher David Peterson, a 6-foot-6, 215-pound lefty who fractured his right fibula prior to the season. Peterson, a 2014 grad, went in the 28th round to the Boston Red Sox, No. 854 overall.

Peterson battled back from the injury to return to the Raiders in mid-April and finished with a 1.15 ERA in 24 1/3 innings. He held opponents to a .180 batting average. Despite the shortened season, he was 3-0 and had 40 strikeouts to 12 walks.

Peterson is an Oregon recruit.

“I want to thank the Red Sox for drafting me,” Peterson tweeted Saturday. “It is such an honor to be picked by one of the best organizations there is.”

Tharp, meanwhile, went to the New York Mets in the 30th round, No. 895 overall. He was also a football star for Fairview before graduating in 2010.

A 5-foot-10, 195-pound outfielder, Tharp hit .310 with six home runs and 39 RBIs as a senior at Kansas this season. He also stole 11 of the 15 bases he attempted to.

Voss became the fourth local picked by the Rockies this draft when they took him in the 34th round, No. 1013 overall. A 5-foot-10, 190-pound catcher, he hit. 469 with four home runs and 22 RBIs this past season.

Like Stajduhar, Voss is a New Mexico recruit.

“Thanks to the Rockies for drafting me!” Voss tweeted on Saturday. “Huge honor to be selected by such a great organization! Thanks to everyone for the support!”

Leonard, Mountain Vista’s right-handed pitcher, was next, going to the Braves later in the 34th round, at No. 1033 overall.

Leonard graduated this spring, is a Washington State recruit and was flat out dominant this season. Listed at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, he went 8-3 with a microscopic 0.88 ERA in 80 innings this season. He had 105 strikeouts to 16 walks.

ThunderRidge shortstop Brody Westmoreland was drafted by the Rockies in the 35th round. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com

ThunderRidge’s Westmoreland, a 2014 grad, then went in the 35th round to the Rockies, becoming the fifth local selected by the team. A San Diego State recruit, he hit .420 with seven home runs and 40 RBIs this season, and also stole 12 bases.

Westmoreland is listed as 6-foot-3, 185 pounds — and despite speculation to the contrary, he has not been approached about moving to a corner infield spot and will stay at shortstop at San Diego State, or as a professional should he sign. In fact, he’s been told by scouts that he’s a prototypical shortstop.

“Thank you Rockies for drafting me today!” Westmoreland tweeted. “Want to thank everyone for all the support and looking forward to playing at San Diego State!”

Fairview’s Kokora, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound right-handed pitcher who graduated this spring, was the fourth Colorado product selected by the Braves on Saturday. He went in the 35th round, No. 1063 overall.

A Hawaii Pacific recruit, Kokora went 9-0 with a 1.38 ERA this season. He held batters to a .166 average, and struck out 65 to 15 walks in helping the Knights to the 5A Final 8.

Gilbreath, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound left-handed pitcher from Legacy, was the Rockies’ sixth and final local selection when he went in the 36th round, No. 1073 overall.

Gilbreath graduated this spring and is a Minnesota recruit. He went 6-2 with a 1.45 ERA this season. Gilbreath had 111 strikeouts, which led 5A, to just 22 walks.

Ghidotti just finished his senior season at Ouachita Baptist, a Division II school in Arkansas. He graduated from Ponderosa in 2010.

A 6-foot-2, 210-pound right-handed pitcher, Ghidotti was 0-1 with eight saves and a 2.06 ERA in 35 innings this past season.

Chaparral’s Eaton, who graduated this spring, was the final local product selected in this year’s draft. He went in the 39th round, No. 1162 overall, to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Eaton, who is a Wichita State recruit, was drafted as a 6-foot, 195-pound left fielder. He hit .328 with with a home run and 13 RBIs this season.

The 2014 MLB Draft started with the first, second and compensation rounds on Thursday. Rounds 3-10 were Friday, with Nos. 11-40 Saturday.

Colorado products taken in 2014 MLB Draft