June 11 , 2007

Feat First: Eight Locals Drafted

By Cary Osborne

It's hard to determine what's a bigger feat - one program producing four Major League Baseball draft picks in the same draft or another program producing a pick for the ninth straight year.

Both feats were accomplished on the second day of the MLB First-Year Player Draft.

With three choices Friday - Jared Clark, Virgil Hill and Garrett Rieck - in addition to Danny Worth, who was selected Thursday, Valencia High has set the standard for area baseball programs in one draft.

Hart High set another standard with John Curtis and Steve Susdorf being taken Friday, giving the Indians at least one drafted player every year since 1999.

Three College of the Canyons products were also chosen.

John Hay, a 2006 Canyon graduate and College of the Canyons freshman, was selected by his hometown Los Angeles Dodgers.

Brian Chavez, who departed College of the Canyons after the 2006 season for the University of San Francisco, was also taken.

Tyreace House was the last Santa Clarita player taken, giving the Santa Clarita Valley a total of eight day-two selections and nine total.

Hill was the only local high school player taken.

The 2007 Valencia graduate and former track star added another wrinkle to his game this past season, adding a nice power stroke that resulted in four home runs to go with a .333 batting average.

Hill, who missed most of the 2006 season recovering from a knee injury suffered in track, wasn't on the baseball map at all last year.

"I was sitting in my room and got the call ... 'Congratulations, you've just been drafted by the Florida Marlins,'" said Hill, who was taken in the 28th round, 856th overall. "I was so happy. I couldn't stop smiling - dream come true."

Hill, who had no offers from colleges to play baseball, said he will likely sign with the Marlins and begin his professional baseball career.

His father Virgil Hill Sr. is a professional boxing champion and his mother Denean Howard-Hill is an Olympic silver medalist in track and field.

Clark was taken out of high school in 2004 by the Houston Astros in the 19th round, but turned them down to go to Cal State Fullerton.

He tore the meniscus and ACL in his left knee and has been out of action this season.

"I feel great about it," said Clark, who was taken by the Cleveland Indians in the 21st round, 647th overall, of the draft. "It was a surprise since I redshirted and didn't play. I was thinking in the 40s or 50th round someone would take a chance."

Clark, who could return to Cal State Fullerton, where he is a right fielder, said he's undecided on what he will do.

The Indians made that decision tougher by drafting Rieck, a 2003 Valencia graduate, in the 29th round, 887th overall.

The Chico State senior left-handed pitcher is Clark's best friend.

"I was just talking to him and we said (in high school) if we would have been drafted by the same team, we would have never believed it," Clark said.

Clark's teammate at Fullerton, John Curtis, has now been drafted for the third year in a row.

The 2002 Hart graduate was the highest local taken on day two, going in the 14th round and 449th overall to the Chicago White Sox.

Steve Susdorf, who moved on from Hart in 2004 and had a huge year statistically at Fresno State in 2007, was taken in the 27th round, 841st overall by the Detroit Tigers.

Susdorf hit .347 with 12 home runs and 67 RBIs as a junior this season and expected to go within the top 10 rounds.

He also said he doesn't know if he will return or sign, but added Detroit will have to give him sixth or seventh round pick money for him to join the Tigers organization.

"Detroit said we might be willing to work out something financially," Susdorf said. "If that happens, I'll go play."

Susdorf is the second member of his family to be drafted.

His brother and Hart graduate Billy Susdorf was taken out of UCLA in the sixth round of the 2004 draft.

He is now a baseball coach at Valencia High.

Like Curtis, Chavez has been drafted three times. He was taken Friday in the 32nd round, 992nd overall by the New York Yankees.

He still has a year of eligibility at the University of San Francisco.

Hay might be seen as a surprise pick.

The Canyon graduate was selected in the 39th round, 1,184th overall by the Dodgers.

Where he landed wasn't a surprise.

Current Los Angeles Dodgers scout Chuck Crim coached Hay for two years at Canyon.

House was taken for the second consecutive year by the Atlanta Braves.

He went nine rounds later than he had in