Eleven Players with Steamer Connections Go in 2011 Draft
Published on June 14, 2011 under Coastal Plain League (Coastal Plain)
Edenton Steamers News Release
The Edenton Steamers, fourteen-year members of the Coastal Plain League, announce today that eleven players with ties to the organization were selected in the Major League Baseball draft from June 6th to June 8th. Among the eleven were five 2011 Steamer signees: infielder John Polonius, outfielder Kentrell Hill, and right-handed pitchers Ryan Turner, Esteban Guzmán, and Chris Bassitt.
2011 infielder John Polonius, from Genesee Community College (NY), was in the middle of playing a game for the Steamers on June 7th when the Cleveland Indians selected him in the 30th round of the draft. Polonius, who was unaware he had been drafted, hit a go ahead home run for the Steamers in the bottom of the eighth that led to the eventual Steamer victory. In the spring for the Cougars, Polonius played in 23 games. He took 83 at-bats and hit .370 for the season. He totaled 30 hits, scored 21 runs, and knocked in 23 runners, while earning the Genesee male athlete of the year in 2011. Polonius has a National Letter of Intent to attend West Virginia University in the fall if he does not elect to sign professionally with the Indians.
Ryan Turner, out of Tarleton State University (TX), was selected in the 32nd round by the Tampa Bay Rays. Turner posted a 5-3 record for the Texans in 2011, including a school record 12 saves. He pitched 40.1 innings, appearing 27 times. He allowed 38 hits, 19 runs (12 earned), walked 22 and struck out 64, earning First Team All-Lone Star Conference for the Division II Tarleton State University Texans.
Outfielder Kentrell Hill, a 2011 Steamer signee, was taken in the 10th round by the San Francisco Giants. In 2011 the switch hitting Hill batted .402, slugged .698 and had an on-base percentage of .482. Hill hit 11 home runs, drove in 50 runners and stole 35 bases for Arkansas Baptist College. He also signed last fall with Oral Roberts University (OK) in the event he does not begin his career with the Giants organization.
2010 setup man and 2011 signee Chris Bassitt from the University of Akron (OH) was chosen in the 16th round by the Chicago White Sox. Bassitt, for the Zips in 2011, pitched 38.0 innings, allowed just 24 hits and nine runs (six earned). He walked 15 and struck out 48 batters, compiling a 1.42 ERA.
Right-handed starter Esteban Guzmán, another 2011 signee out of San Jose State University (CA), was selected in the 17th round by the Washington Nationals. The three-year Spartan went 5-4 with a 3.33 ERA in 2011 and averaged better than a three-to-one strikeout to walk ratio, sitting down 74 batters to 22 walks. Guzmán earned Second Team All-Western Athletic Conference honors.
2010 Steamers all-star and record breaking closer Mark Montgomery from Longwood University (VA) was selected in the 11th round by the New York Yankees. He was 1-0 with 10 saves and a 0.89 ERA in 22 appearances, including 30.1 innings, and 48 strikeouts (14.24 K/9 IP) as a junior closer with the Lancers during 2011. Montgomery, the 359th overall selection, becomes only the ninth Longwood baseball player to ever be drafted.
2010 right-handed starting pitcher Joe DiRocco from Seton Hall University (NJ) was selected in the 21st round by the Seattle Mariners. DiRocco earned First-Team All-Big East honors in 2011; overall this season, the senior was 8-2 with a 1.97 ERA fanning 82 batters in 118.2 innings.
2010 all-star center fielder and leadoff man for the Steamers, Billy Burns was chosen in the 32nd round by the Washington Nationals. The Marietta, Ga. native finished a magical junior season in which he established himself as one of the best leadoff hitters in the country. Burns hit .357 this spring while leading the Atlantic Sun Conference with 72 runs scored and 29 stolen bases. He also was the team leader with a .473 on-base percentage and ranked second on the club with 80 hits.
2010 third baseman Greg Herbst was drafted as a pitcher by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 32nd round from St. Mary's University in Texas. Herbst led the Rattlers with 85 strikeouts and led all of St. Mary's starting pitchers with a 2.29 ERA. He also went 8-3 over 15 starts, in addition to maintaining a .269 batting average with four home runs and 19 RBI at the plate. His performance netted him all kinds of honors, including being named First Team All-Region by both Daktronics and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He also won a Gold Glove award from the Heartland Conference and was named First Team All-Conference by the league.
2010 catcher Ian Tomkins from Abilene Christian University (TX) was selected in the 50th round with the second to last pick in the draft by the Tampa Bay Rays. In two seasons with the Wildcats after transferring from Wake Forest, Tomkins hit .307 (86 for 280) with four home runs and 50 RBI. He threw out 17 of 90 base runners over those two years.
2009 designated hitter Rhett Stafford from Marshall University (WV) was chosen in the 22nd round by the Oakland Athletics. Stafford led The Herd in homers (10), RBI (41), total bases (98), and slugging (.560) in 2011. He also hit a career best .320 in his third full season with Marshall.
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