Wednesday, Jun. 10, 2009

Mid-Columbia talent ready for Day 2 of MLB draft

By Jack Millikin, Herald staff writer

Darrell Ceciliani has waited his whole life to be a professional baseball player.

"Ever since I could hold a bat," said Ceciliani, a 6-foot-1 right-fielder for Columbia Basin College.

He put himself on the radar of many a major league scout with a solid season at the plate while leading CBC into the NWAACC championship game. The left-hander hit .364 and led the Hawks with six triples, four home runs and 40 RBIs as the team's No. 3 hitter.

Ceciliani is expected to be chosen somewhere between rounds 4-6 of Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft, which began Tuesday with the first three rounds and concludes today with rounds 4-50 in Secaucus, N.J.

But Ceciliani's dream will have to wait at least another day, a circumstance the Madras, Ore., native can live with.

"I'm just relaxing," Ceciliani said near the conclusion of Day 1 of the draft. "I'm anxious to find out how it's going to go. Then I'll make my decision to come back (to CBC)."

Ceciliani says that decision will hinge less upon money and more upon where he lands in the draft. If he is chosen in the top five rounds, that will make his decision to turn pro a little easier.

"I told scouts if I go in the top five, it's very highly possible I would sign," said Ceciliani, who added that the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners and the Tampa Bay Rays have shown the most interest.

Several other Mid-Columbia products could see their names on the draft board within the first 10 rounds today, including University of Washington outfielder and Richland graduate Kyle Conley, who was selected in the 16th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers in last year's draft, but chose to come back to the Huskies.

"Last year just wasn't right, but hopefully this year I'll get a more attractive opportunity," said Conley, a UW junior who tied the school's career home run record with 42 and could go as high as the fourth round.

"I've kind of been waiting for this day since the season was over," he said. "Throw finals on top of it and it's really crazy."

Washington State pitcher Chad Arnold, a Southridge product, and recent Kennewick graduate Tony Bryant, a 6-8 hard-throwing pitcher with strong upside, should also get the call in the earlier rounds.

"He has a little bit of leverage," Kamiakin coach Rex Easley said of Bryant, who has already signed with Oregon State. "It depends on how high you go, but you can say, 'My schooling is going to be worth this much over four years at OSU.' You've got to get that money out of those people."

Several other local names are expected to be drafted today. Oregon State pitcher Jorge Reyes (Warden), who helped the Beavers win their second straight College World Series title in 2007, could come off the board between the eighth and 15th rounds. UW pitcher Jorden Merry (Pasco) is likely to go inside the first 20 rounds.

Paul Martin and Dustin Willis, both Kamiakin products out of Lewis-Clark State College, are expected to be selected in the later rounds.

There is plenty of draftable high school talent around the Tri-Cities. Brett Jacobs (Richland) has signed to play at Washington State, Andrew Mendenhall (Southridge) will play at Oregon and Shawn O'Brien inked with St. Mary's in Moraga, Calif.

That won't neccessarily deter teams from drafting these players, but the chances of them signing are slim.

"Pretty much everybody's going to go to college," said Southridge coach Tim Sanders. "Scouts aren't going to miss on a guy. They won't waste an early pick on a kid who isn't signable."