Prep baseball: Catching up with other area draft picks

photo by Grant Jefferies

A day after Cord Sandberg played his first professional baseball game in Bradenton as a member of the GCL Phillies, here is a list of how some of the area's other draft picks are faring.

J.R. Murphy - The IMG product and Bradenton native is playing well after being promoted to the New York Yankees' Triple-A team in Scranton-Wilkes Barre. Murphy, 21, is batting .308 in 12 games with the RailRiders, with two home runs and six RBIs. A catcher, Murphy has thrown out of five of 16 runners trying to steal (31 percent), and was the Yankees' second-round pick in 2009.

Correlle Prime - Prime is back with the Colorado Rockies' Rookie League team in Grand Junction, where he is batting .261. He hit his professional home run on Tuesday, the same day Sandberg hit his, and hasn't made an error in seven games at first base. The Rockies chose Prime, a Manatee alum, in the 12th round of last year's draft.

Zack Larson - The Lakewood Ranch grad is with the Minnesota Twins' Gulf Coast League team, and has shown some power, homering twice in his first 15 plate appearances for a .714 slugging percentage. Larson, a 20th-round pick last year, is batting .286 through his first four games. The GCL Twins aren't scheduled for any games at Pirate City this summer, but do come to Sarasota to play the GCL Orioles on July 2.

Ryan Pope - A Bayshore graduate and the first player ever to be drafted out of the Savannah College of Arts and Design, Pope joins Murphy on the RailRiders' roster. After stumbling during a 2011 Triple-A stint, Pope has pitched better thus far, posting a 2.92 ERA and 1-0 record in five games. Pope has walked just one in 12 1/3 innings while striking out seven.

Sean McAdams - Another area player drafted in 2012, McAdams is back in Sarasota with the GCL Orioles. He has a 8.10 ERA in two appearances, but does have one save and four strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings.

Granden Goetzman - The Palmetto native is healthy after missing most of last year with a stress fracture in his back, but is off to a slow start. Goetzman began the year with the Tampa Bay Rays high Single-A team in Bowling Green, but is now with low Single-A team in Hudson Valley after hitting .153 in 21 games at Bowling Green. Goetzman is batting .200 in six games with the Renegades.

Michael Ohlman - A Lakewood Ranch product, Ohlman is at high Single-A for the first time and making the most of it. Drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 2009, Ohlman is hitting .306 with five home runs and 21 RBIs and four triples in 41 games with the Frederick Keys. Ohlman has been a designated hitter for 27 games and a catcher for 14, during which he has thrown out six of 27 runners trying to steal (22 percent).

Prep football: Gugliemini named FHSAA football official of the year

photo by Tiffany Tompkins-Condie

Andy Gugliemini is best known around the area for his work with wrestlers.
The Florida High School Athletic Association appreciates the way he handles football games, too.
Gugliemini was named the FHSAA's football official of the year earlier this month. Gugliemini is also Manatee's wrestling coach.
He has officiated a regional final and state semifinal during his 20-year career and is also the president of the the Southern Independent Conference Officials Assocation.
"It's a huge honor, man," Gugliemini said. "I've put a lot of time in off and on the field. If I'm going to do something, I want to be the best."
As for wrestling, Gugliemini and his charges are headed to Orlando this week for the AAU Scholastic Duals, which run until Monday.
"And Tuesday," he said, "we go to Sea World."

Prep baseball: ODA looking for a baseball coach

Because of commitments to his business, Billy Dietrich has stepped down as Out-of-Door Academy's baseball coach.
Dietrich said he and his family will be relocating, which means Billy's son, Tyler, will also be leaving the school.
A rising junior and a catcher, Dietrich hit .480 with 20 RBIs and caught 73 percent of runners trying to steal this spring. Dietrich, according to his dad, is on a number of Division I radars. Tyler had verbally committed to play baseball at the University of Houston but said he has withdrawn his commitment.
Dietrich was also in the mix to be the football team's starting quarterback.
Billy Dietrich led the Thunder to the program's second district championship this spring, as ODA defeated Cardinal Mooney, which won both regular-season meetings, in the Class 3A-District 10 final.

Prep baseball video: Manatee's Cord Sandberg talks about his pro baseball debut

Prep basketball: Antonio Blakeney cleared to play at Oak Ridge

photo by Tiffany Tompkins-Condie

Former Cardinal Mooney star Antonio Blakeney has been cleared to play at Orlando Oak Ridge, according to a story in the Orlando Sentinel.
Blakeney averaged 24.8 points and 7.6 rebounds last year in leading the Cougars to the Class 3A-Region 3 championship game but transferred to Oak Ridge in the spring because his mother took a job in Orlando.
The Florida High School Athletic Association approved the transfer of Blakeney as well as Alex Owens, a 6-foot-8 Bradenton native.
Each player's move to Oak Ridge was put under scrutiny because Blakeney and Owens play for Each 1 Teach 1 travel team. That team is coached by Edward "Boobie" Francis, who was an assistant at Oak Ridge, according to the report in the paper. He is no longer on staff, the Sentinel said.
"The member school (Oak Ridge) gave us a set of facts and asked us based on these facts to determine eligibility for two students," FHSAA compliance director Denarvise Thornton told the Sentinel. "We did communicate with various individuals by telephone. Both athletes are eligible to participate."
According to the story, the FHSAA spoke with the parents of both players, as well as Oak Ridge athletic director Janet Rasmussen, Francis and Oak Ridge head coach Alex Jackson.
"The FHSAA called and we answered every question they had," Jackson told the paper. "We're going to make sure these kids live in our zone and live with who they say they live with. We're moving forward."

Prep football: IMG's Murphy hits first Triple-A home run

photo by Grant Jefferies

Bradenton native and IMG product J.R. Murphy didn't waste much time making an impact in Triple-A.
Ranked as the New York Yankees' 15th-best prospect, Murphy homered for Scranton-Wilkes Barre on Tuesday. It was his first home run since he was promoted from Double-A Trenton last week.
Murphy was hitting .268 with 25 RBIs in 49 games before his call up to Triple-A, which is one step away from the big club.
A catcher, Murphy threw out 24 of 50 basestealers with Trenton (48 percent) and has thrown out 30 percent in his professional career.
Murphy, 22, was the Yankees second-round pick in 2009.

Prep sports: FHSAA announces more tentative districts

Dwayne Strong will watch his Manatee Hurricanes battle a new slate of district opponents next spring after the Florida High School Athletic Association on Wednesday released its tentative districts for bowling, baseball, cheerleading, lacrosse, softball and tennis.
Teams have until June 25 to appeal their classifications.
Listed below are the districts involving area schools.

BASEBALL and SOFTBALL
Class 8A-District 8
Manatee
Palm Harbor University
Riverview (Sarasota)
St. Petersburg
Class 7A-District 10
Braden River
Lakewood Ranch
North Port
Palmetto
Sarasota
Class 5A-District 10
Bayshore
Boca Ciega (Gulfport)
Gibbs (St. Petersburg)
Lakewood (St. Petersburg)
Southeast
Class 3A-District 10
Bradenton Christian
Cardinal Mooney
Imagine School (North Port) (baseball only)
Out-of-Door
St. Stephen's 

CHEERLEADING (local schools only)
Region 3
Lakewood Ranch
Manatee

TENNIS
Class 4A-District 8
Countryside (Clearwater)
East Lake (Tarpon Springs)
Manatee
North Port
Palm Harbor University
Pinellas Park (Largo)
Riverview (Sarasota)
Seminole (Seminole)
St. Petersburg
Class 3A-District 10
Braden River
Clearwater
Dixie Hollins (St. Petersburg)
Lakewood Ranch
Largo
Northeast (St. Petersburg)
Osceola (Seminole)
Palmetto
Sarasota
Class 2A-District 10
Bayshore
Boca Ciega (Gulfport)
Booker (Sarasota)
Gibbs (St. Petersburg)
Lakewood (St. Petersburg)
Robinson (Tampa)
Southeast  
Class 1A-District 9
Admiral Farragut (St. Petersburg)
Bradenton Christian
Canterbury (St. Petersburg)
Cardinal Mooney
Northside Christian (St. Petersburg)
Out-of-Door
Shorecrest Prep (St. Petersburg)
St. Petersburg Catholic
St. Stephen's  
 BOYS LACROSSE (Single Class)
District 17
Cardinal Mooney
Out-of-Door
Sarasota Military Academy
St. Stephen's
GIRLS LACROSSE (Single Class)
District 16
Cardinal Mooney
Out-of-Door
Sarasota Military Academy
St. Stephen's
 

Prep sports: Braden River wins sportsmanship award

Braden River is a winner in the Florida High School Athletic Association's Fred E. Rozelle Sportsmanship Award for Class 7A.
Originated in 1991, the award goes to the school which best exemplifies sportsmanship among its players, coaches and fans.
The Pirates were named the winners in Section 3 and overall in Class 7A.
Section winners received $500 and the overall winners get an additional $2,500.

Prep baseball: Remembering the Phillies' other Sandberg

photo by Tiffany Tompkins-Condie

As you can see by the hat, Manatee's Cord Sandberg was a third-round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies today during the second day of the baseball draft.
Of course, this isn't the first time the Phillies took a flyer on a Sandberg: Ryne Sandberg, no relation to Cord, was the franchise's 20th-round pick June 6, 1978. He signed with the Phillies nine days later.
Ryne made it to the Phils' Triple-A affiliate in 1981 and made his major-league debut Sept. 2 of that same year, batting .167 in 13 games.
That was the last of Sandberg's stint with Phillies - on Jan. 27, 1982, Sandberg and Larry Bowa were shipped to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for outfielder Ivan de Jesus in a trade not many Phillies fans wish to discuss, and with good reason.
Sandberg became a Hall-of-Famer with the Cubs, batting .285 with 282 home runs and 2,386 hits.  A 10-time All-Star, Sandberg was the National League's Most Valuable Player in 1984 and won eight straight Gold Gloves at second base.
de Jesus, meanwhile, spent three years in Philly (1982-84) and batted .249 in 463 games with a .319 on-bast percentage. He was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals in '85.
Now we'll get to find out how the local Sandberg pans out for the Phillies.

Prep basketball: Southeast's Washington named district coach of the year

Southeast boys basketball coach Elliot Washington has been named the District 16 Class 5A Coach of the Year by the Florida Athletic Coaches Association.
Washington guided the Seminoles to a 15-12 record this season and berth in the Class 5A-District 12 semifinals.