Grizzlies Draft Two All-Americans
SAUGET, Ill. — The Gateway Grizzlies selected three players — right-handed pitcher Ryan McSweeney, infielder Jeff Cardenas and infielder Tommy Ziegen — Tuesday evening at the Frontier League Draft in Florence, Kentucky.
After trading the No. 1 overall pick to the Traverse City Beach Bums, the Grizzlies chose McSweeney with the No. 3 selection in the first round. McSweeney pitched at Welsh University, where he was named a 2017 NCAA Division II All-American after finishing the season 4-1 with a 0.91 ERA. McSweeney struck out 31 batters, and walked only six, in 29 2/3 innings pitched. He also notched nine saves. McSweeney is from Seven Hills, Ohio, where he was a three-sport athlete in high school.
"Obviously he has great collegiate numbers," Grizzlies pitching coach Richard Barrett said. "His fastball has good run and he showed a plus slider. We'll explore the possibility of using him in long relief as he competes for a spot in the bullpen."
Later in the first round, Gateway snagged Cardenas with the No. 7 overall selection. Cardenas is a former All-American in his own right: an NAIA All-America honoree in 2017 for his work at shortstop with the University of Northwestern Ohio. Cardenas tore up his competition as a senior, posting a .410 batting average with 10 home runs and 70 RBIs in 56 games. He added 15 stolen bases while accumulating more walks (29) than strikeouts (28) for a season OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) of 1.043.
"Impressive collegiate numbers," Grizzlies manager Phil Warren said. "We saw a good deal of him this off-season when he came to our open tryout. He has a nice swing and gets the barrel to the ball quickly, which allows him to turn around fastballs. He's also versatile defensively — can play third, short, and second. He'll compete for a spot in the infield."
With the No. 25 overall selection, the Grizzlies rounded out their draft class by choosing Ziegen, a 2017 D3baseball.com All-New York Region honoree from SUNY Old Westbury. Ziegen batted .408 with six home runs and 40 RBIs in 35 games as a senior. He also swiped 19 bases.
In exchange for the No. 1 overall pick, the Grizzlies received Traverse City's first-round pick in next year's Frontier League Draft.
ABOUT THE GATEWAY GRIZZLIES: The Gateway Grizzlies are a professional baseball team, located a mere 100-yards from I-255 (10 minutes from downtown St. Louis). The Grizzlies offer baseball fans entertainment, the likes of which are difficult to find - affordable, family, fun in the comfortable GCS Credit Union Ballpark with a great view of the St. Louis skyline. For tickets or general information please visit gatewaygrizzlies.com or call 618.337.3000.
ABOUT THE FRONTIER LEAGUE: The Frontier League is a professional, independent baseball organization. Since its inception, the Frontier League has provided millions of fans to a fun and exciting baseball experience within the American Midwest. Consisting of 12 teams in two divisions and 96 game schedules, the league is recognized for the amount of talented athletes that are picked up by various MLB teams every year.