Astros Pick Northridge Recruit

Three Cal State Northridge players, and one who has signed to play with the Matadors, were among the local players picked Friday, the second day of the major league amateur draft.

Northridge most likely will lose Antelope Valley College third baseman Eric Cole, who was picked by the Houston Astros in the 20th round. Cole, who committed to Northridge last month, said he expects to sign with the Astros in the next few days.

“I wanted to go to Northridge,” said Cole. “It sounded good, but I was going to have to take 13 units to be eligible. I was going to have take classes from 8 in the morning to 10 at night.

“It was just going to be too tough for me. I could have done it, but I always wanted to play pro baseball anyway.”

Cole hit .357 with 11 home runs and 45 runs batted in for Antelope Valley.

Cal State Northridge senior Jason Shanahan was picked by the Florida Marlins in the 35th round and signed later Friday. He said he will report to minicamp in Florida next week and play at Class-A Elmira, N.Y.

Shanahan, a two-time All-Western Athletic Conference pick, hit .341 with 15 home runs and 59 RBIs in for the Matadors in ’95.

Northridge senior shortstop Chad Thornhill, taken by the Cleveland Indians in the 37th round, also is expected to sign.

Matador sophomore catcher Robert Fick, taken by the Detroit Tigers in the 44th round, will be more difficult to sign because he has two remaining years of eligibility at Northridge. Fick also was drafted out of Newbury Park High by the Oakland Athletics.

Tiger scout Dennis Lieberthal will be pursuing Fick and Quartz Hill High right-hander Darrell Hussman, whom the Tigers picked in the 31st round. Hussman was forecast as a much-higher pick, but he scared off scouts who didn’t think they could sign him away from a scholarship to Arizona.

“It might take the whole summer, but we are going to go after him,” Lieberthal said. “We want to sign him.”

The day’s other draft picks included Mission College right-hander Jose Villafana, taken by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 38th round, and Moorpark College right-hander Phil Derryman, picked by the Montreal Expos in the 44th round.

The Expos picked Derryman after his senior year at Royal High last summer and maintained his rights while he pitched at Moorpark this spring. Expo scout Scott Stanley said the team would not try to sign Derryman until after another season at Moorpark.

Because teams keep the rights to junior college players until a week before the next year’s draft, today’s picks will likely include a flurry of high school players with potential, but without Division I scholarships.

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The Chosen Ones Listed are the area players who were selected Thursday and Friday in the major league amateur draft, which concludes today. Round information supplied by players.

Player Pos School ML Team Rd Darrell Dent OF Montclair Prep Orioles 3rd Wayne Nix RHP Monroe HS Athletics 4th Russ Ortiz RHP Oklahoma, Montclair Prep Giants 4th Judd Granzow OF Faith Baptist HS Dodgers 4th Jon Tucker 1B Chatsworth HS Dodgers 8th Brandon Knight RHP Ventura Col., Buena HS Rangers 14th Andy Hall 2B Cal Poly SLO, Camarillo HS Cardinals 16th Eric Flores SS-3B Rio Mesa HS Dodgers 16th Justin Marine RHP Moorpark Col., El Camino Real HS Reds 18th Eric Cole 3B Ant. Valley Col., Ant. Valley HS Astros 20th John Romero RHP Mission College, San Fernando HS Angels 25th Darrell Hussman RHP Quartz Hill HS Tigers 31st Jason Shanahan 3B Cal State Northridge Marlins 35th Chad Thornhill SS Cal State Northridge Indians 37th Jose Villafana RHP Mission College, Sylmar HS Cardinals 38th Robert Fick C CSUN, Ventura Col., New. Pk. HS Tigers 44th Phil Derryman RHP Moorpark College, Royal HS Expos 44th