DeGrasse, Vigo Among Area Players Picked Late in Amateur Baseball Draft

Former Notre Dame High pitcher Tim DeGrasse and Cal State Northridge infielder Denny Vigo were among players selected this week in the amateur baseball draft.

Also drafted were Darnell Hendricks of Taft High, Rodney Williams of Palmdale High, David Skeels of Thousand Oaks High, Jacob Cruz of Channel Islands High, Mike Jenkins of Moorpark College and Jeff Light of Stanford, a former Montclair Prep standout.

DeGrasse, a right-hander who recently completed his senior season at UC Santa Barbara, was selected in the 29th round by the St. Louis Cardinals. DeGrasse, who was an All-Big West Conference selection, was 9-3 with an earned-run average of 3.69.

Included among DeGrasse’s wins were complete-game victories over eventual World Series participants Fresno State and Cal State Long Beach.

DeGrasse’s father, Don, said Wednesday that he expects his son to sign later this week.

Vigo, a third baseman and a graduate of El Camino Real High, was selected in the 27th round by the Cleveland Indians after he batted .229 and hit seven home runs during an injury-plagued junior season. Vigo hit 19 home runs as a sophomore.

Hendricks, an outfielder, was drafted in the 20th round by the Atlanta Braves. Hendricks batted .274. Williams, a fleet outfielder who batted .397 and stole 17 bases, was selected in the 33rd round by the Kansas City Royals.

Skeels, a catcher-third baseman who batted .365 with 27 runs batted in, was selected in the 37th round by the Chicago Cubs. Jenkins, a right-handed pitcher and a Simi Valley High product, was selected between the 35th and 40th rounds by the Detroit Tigers. Jenkins was 7-2 with an earned-run average of 2.80 at Moorpark.

Cruz, ranked among the top high school prospects nationally, was drafted in the 40th round by the California Angels largely because he has stated that he intends to play at Arizona State.

Light was chosen in the 13th round by the Oakland A’s. A former infielder, Light was converted to catcher this season.

Mission College outfielder Tom Gibson, a 10th-round draft pick of the Detroit Tigers, said he has signed and will leave Wednesday to join the Tigers’ short-season Class-A team in Bristol, Va.

Mike Teich, a left-handed pitcher from Sacramento State, College of the Canyons and El Camino Real High, signed Wednesday with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who drafted him in the 32nd round. Teich will report to Watertown, N.Y., the Pirates’ Class A affiliate in the New York-Penn League.