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FL Gateway Grizzlies

Grizzlies Add Three at Frontier League Draft

April 25, 2019 - Frontier League (FL)
Gateway Grizzlies News Release


JOLIET, Ill. - The Gateway Grizzlies made three picks Wednesday in the first round of the 2019 Frontier League Draft in Joliet, Illinois: right-handed pitcher Reign Letkeman, second baseman Gunnar Buhner and catcher Fernando Villegas.

Grizzlies manager Phil Warren selected Letkeman with the first overall pick. The 6-3, 180-pound hurler has played three seasons of professional baseball, all in the Tampa Bay Rays' organization. Letkeman is a Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, native and will turn 24 years old on May 12. He appeared in 26 games with Rays minor-league affiliates from 2015-2017 and reached Short Season Class-A Hudson Valley after Tampa Bay drafted him in the 23rd round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of Big Bend Community College.

"There were probably two guys who stood out to us - Reign being one of them - that really looked like he threw with a plan," Warren said. "He wasn't the highest velo guy here, but [he threw] 90-91-92 mph and he used both sides of the plate. He throws three pitches for strikes and has a good history behind him, competes well, good kid with good size to him and he's durable so we can probably use him in different roles."

Warren chose Buhner at No. 3 overall, a pick aquired from the Traverse City Beach Bums in a trade at last year's draft. Buhner spent last season with the Eastside Diamond Hoppers of the United Shore Professional Baseball League, where he played 40 games. The Issaquah, Washington, native signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as a free agent after finishing his college career at Lewis-Clark State College, an NAIA power, and appeared in 24 games at the rookie level with the Gulf Coast League Philles in 2017.

Villegas, the No. 9 overall selection, finished his collegiate career at the NAIA level with Central Methodist (Mo.) University in 2018. As a senior, the Hutchinson, Minnesota, native hit .359 with a 1.028 OPS (on-base plus slugging) with six home runs in only 33 games.

Both of Gateway's first-round picks a year ago, right-handed pitcher Ryan McSweeney and infielder Jeff Cardenas, made the team's opening day roster. Cardenas played the entire 2018 season with the Grizzlies.

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