Frontier League Drafts Record 45 Players

The MLB season is over a month old, and that can mean only one thing: Indie baseball is on deck. 

The college baseball season is winding down, and those seniors who are likely to go undrafted in the MLB Draft or those looking to hold out for better deals are right in the middle of an independent signing frenzy. 

With tryouts coming to a close and with many getting their first opportunity at professional baseball, this is a very exciting time. 

The Frontier League completed their record-breaking day May 1, drafting a total of 45 players. Mike Lee, who was chosen first overall by the Rockford RiverHawks, was an eighth-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in the 2008 MLB June Amateur Draft. 

Lee spent four years in the Sox organization with his best season coming in 2010, where he went 9-7. Over that four-year period, Lee recorded 254 strikeouts in 294 innings. He went 13-18 in 84 games with a 4.77 ERA. 

You never know who is watching in the stands, and just when you think you’ve thrown your last pitch or swung at that last strike, the tables turn. What may seem like the end of the road may be the beginning, and in the case of Mike Lee, this stint with Washington might get him back to where he started, and where all aspiring players strive to get to. 

The complete list of draft picks courtesy of The Frontier League:

First Round

Mike Lee – RHP – Rockford RiverHawks

Andres Caceres – LHP – Florence Freedom

Nick Farnsworth – 1B – Evansville Otters

Jose Rodriguez – LHP – Schaumburg Boomers

Jonathan Gonzalez – RHP – Gateway Grizzlies

Michael Miller – OF – Washington Wild Things

Brendon Smith – RHP – Normal CornBelters

Ricky Szeligo – RHP – Windy City ThunderBolts

Jason Mattila – RHP – Traverse City Beach Bums

Ben Klafczynski – RHP – Lake Erie Crushers

Charles Wooten – RHP – London Rippers

Josh Cruse – RHP – River City Rascals

Juan Reyes – C – Washington Wild Things

Dan Lazzaroni – RHP – River City Rascals

Second round

Nick Rice – LHP – Rockford RiverHawks

Robert Simone – RHP – Lake Erie Crushers

Lucas Shaw – C – Evansville Otters

Sean Mahley – OF – Schaumburg Boomers

Blair Springfield – 2B – Gateway Grizzlies

Zach Deutscher – C – River City Rascals

Ryan Krumlauf – RHP – Normal CornBelters

Jorge Navarrete – LHP – Windy City ThunderBolts

Albert Gonzalez – SS – Traverse City Beach Bums

Mike Inselmann – RHP – Lake Erie Crushers

Andrew Chilcoat – RHP – London Rippers

Kyle Zimmerman – 2B – Joliet Slammers

Matthew Soderlund – C – Southern Illinois Miners

Aaron Oliver – SS – River City Rascals

 
Third round

Rafael Ortega – SS – Florence Freedom

Chad Mozingo – OF – Schaumburg Boomers

Justin Dunning – C – Gateway Grizzlies

Eric Curtis – C – Washington Wild Things

Elio Briones – RHP – Normal CornBelters

Felix Marte – 2B – Traverse City Beach Bums

Brandon Fowler – C – London Rippers

Anthony Amedei – 2B – Joliet Slammers

Blake Whitt – C – Southern Illinois Miners

R.J. Gundolff – 2B – River City Rascals

Fourth and subsequent rounds

Matt Kline – RHP – Florence Freedom

David Casey – 1B – Washington Wild Things

David Triplet – RHP – London Rippers

Ryan Thomas – RHP – Washington Wild Things

Philip Roscoe – C – London Rippers

David Jensen – LHP – Washington Wild Things

Doc Nieman – C – Washington Wild Things

Devon is the Founder and Executive Director of The GM's Perspective. He is a former professional baseball player with the River City Rascals & Gateway Grizzlies. Currently, Devon is a manager at a financial institution in Northern Ontario Canada, and can be reached at [e-mail]. You can follow The GM's Perspective on Twitter and Facebook. His full bio can be seen here.

**Devon is available for hire or freelance opportunities**