Seven locals taken in MLB Draft
Jack Kruger had work to do Saturday, but not before he was rewarded for the work he’d already put in.
The former Orange Coast College catcher, who started for Mississippi State in the NCAA Super Regional against visiting Arizona on Saturday, was one of seven players with local ties selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, a three-day event completed Saturday.
Kruger, who helped lead OCC to the 2015 state championship, was taken in the 20th round (No. 606 overall) by the Angels, the first of three locals tabbed by the Anaheim-based franchise.
Kruger’s former OCC battery mate Scott Serigstad, who was an All-Big West Conference pitcher this spring for Cal State Fullerton, was the top area player chosen, going in the 15th round (No. 441) to the Milwaukee Brewers.
UC Irvine senior pitcher Elliot Surrey (No. 777) and infielder John Brontsema (No. 793) were both taken in the 26th round by the Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals, respectively.
Cameron Jabara, a Newport Harbor High senior who last competed for the Sailors in 2015, was selected in the 31st round by the Atlanta Braves.
Vanguard University senior standouts Sean Issac and Jose Rojas, who were both named NAIA All-Americans earlier this week, were taken in the 35th and 36th rounds, respectively, by the Angels.
Kruger, a first-team All-Southeastern Conference honoree as a designated hitter-utility performer, entered Saturday’s game hitting .350 with eight home runs, 40 runs batted in, 43 runs, 19 doubles and six stolen bases for the Bulldogs, who lost their Super Regional opener to Arizona, 1-0, on Friday.
Kruger began his collegiate career with Oregon, before transferring to OCC and playing one season with the Pirates.
Serigstad, a junior right-hander who made all 27 appearances for the Titans this season out of the bullpen, was 2-1 with a 1.22 earned-run average and a team-best four saves. Serigstad, who began his career at Grand Canyon University before playing one season at OCC, struck out 55 and allowed just 30 hits in 51 2/3 innings. Opponents hit a paltry .176 against him as he helped lead the Titans to the Big West championship and a berth in the NCAA regionals.
Surrey, a weekend starting pitcher his final three seasons at UCI, was a second-team All-Big West honoree as a senior. He went 4-6 with a 3.65 ERA and struck out 65 while allowing 80 hits in 91 1/3 innings. His strikeouts and innings pitched led the Anteaters, who failed to make the postseason.
Surrey, who finished his UCI career with 19 wins and 239 strikeouts and made 49 career starts, was a central figure during the ‘Eaters 2014 postseason run that earned them a berth in the College World Series.
Brontsema, the son of former UC Santa Barbara Coach Bob Brontsema, started 47 games at shortstop for UCI in 2016. The junior hit .289 with one home run, 18 RBIs and 35 runs in 190 at-bats this spring. His seven stolen bases were tops on the team.
Jabara, who has signed with Oregon, elected to focus on club baseball after his junior season at Newport Harbor. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound right-handed pitcher is 18.
Isaac, the Golden State Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year, shared the NAIA lead in wins after finishing 14-3 with a 2.33 ERA in 18 starts. He struck out 147 in 127 2/3 innings, while allowing 104 hits in 2016.
Isaac, who played two seasons at Vanguard after transferring from El Camino College, where was a position player, won 24 games for the Lions.
Rojas, the GSAC Player of the Year and a 2015 NAIA Gold Glove award winner at shortstop, hit .361 with 12 home runs and 57 RBIs as a senior. He scored 52 runs and slugged .673, as 35 of his 723 hits were for extra bases. He also drew 30 walks and was named to the GSAC Gold Glove team.
In two seasons at Vanguard the Fullerton Community College transfer hit 24 homers and drove in 114 runs.
Both Issac and Rojas helped Vanguard reach the NAIA World Series in 2015, the program’s first trip in 30 seasons.
Vanguard was one out away from a return trip to the NAIA World Series this season.
