Future Pros On Display

The Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League enjoyed yet another successful year as 18 of its alumni were selected in the 2019 Major League Baseball first-year player draft last week.

The Southampton Breakers had two of their former players taken on day two of the draft. Connor Lehmann (Saint Louis/Southampton ’17) was the first HCBL alum off the board, going in the seventh round to the San Diego Padres. The lanky righthander was a force out of the pen for the Breakers, posting a 0.00 earned run average in four appearances, giving up just six hits in 8 1/3 innings.

“Connor is a young man that has all the tools to succeed at the next level, from his 6’7” frame to his mentality and natural ability,” said Breakers manager Rob Cafiero. “I’m happy I had the opportunity to coach him in the summer of 2017, and I’m looking forward to following him in his pro career.”

Simon Whiteman (Yale/Southampton ’17) was another day two pick, having been drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the ninth round. Whiteman hit .347 and stole 19 bases in his summer with the Breakers, and was a force over four years for Yale, earning All-Ivy accolades three times and concluding his career by hitting .337 and going a perfect 34-for-34 on stolen base attempts. Off the field, Whiteman was a Rhodes Scholar nominee.

On day three, the Oakland Athletics took another Breakers’ alumni Long Island product Ed Baram (Adelphi/Southampton ’16), who went 7-2 with a 1.32 ERA in his final season for the Panthers.

The highest draft pick in the history of the HCBL was Nick Ahmed (UConn/Westhampton ’09), a second rounder and the first HCBL to play in the major leagues. Ahmed, now 29, is playing regularly for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He has seven homers, 35 runs batted in, and a .258 batting average. He’s been in the league since 2014.

Godley is suffering though a dismal 3-6 record this season but was 15-11 with 185 strikeouts last season.

rmurphy@indyeastend.com