Prep baseball: Bayshore's Ryan Pope off to Triple-A

(photo by Tiffany Tompkins-Condie)

Bayshore graduate Ryan Pope begins the baseball season one step closer toward becoming a major-leaguer.

Pope is on the roster of the New York Yankees' Triple-A affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

The pitcher spent all of last season with the organization's Double-A team in Trenton, N.J, and this is the first time he has cracked a Triple-A roster, and he is on the seven-day disabled list.

Pope, who is also listed on the Yankees' 40-man roster, pitched out of the bullpen for the majority of last season and recorded 17 saves with the Thunder.

The Yankees took Pope, who graduated from Bayshore in '04, during the third round of the 2007 draft, making him the first player ever drafted from the Savannah College of Art and Design.