Kansas City-area players selected in the MLB draft

The 2016 Major League draft has concluded, and as expected it was a banner year for Kansas City-area high school kids. Only five Kansas City-area high school players have ever been selected in the first round of the MLB draft:

• Rick Sutcliffe, Van Horn (Independence, MO), 21st overall, 1974 (Dodgers)
• Lee Stevens, Lawrence (Lawrence, KS), 22nd overall, 1986 (Angels)
• Damian Rolls, Schlagle (Kansas City, KS), 23rd overall, 1996 (Dodgers)
• John Mayberry Jr., Rockhurst (Kansas City, MO), 28th overall, 2002 (Mariners)
• Bubba Starling, Gardner-Edgerton (Gardner, KS), 5th overall, 2011 (Royals)

This year, St. Thomas Aquinas pitcher Riley Pint added to that list after being selected fourth overall by the Colorado Rockies. The Lenexa native with a fastball that hits triple digits, becomes the highest selection ever from the area, as well as the highest selection ever from the state of Kansas. According to some reports, Pint may already be in agreement with the Rockies on a contract with a bonus just under $5 million.

But it was not just Pint that made this Kansas City-area high school class special. Left-handed pitcher Joey Wentz of Shawnee Mission East in Prairie Village, Kansas was selected in the supplementary round, 30th overall, by the Atlanta Braves. Wentz, who has committed to the University of Virginia, did not allow an earned run all year, and did not give up a hit over his first 23 innings to start the season. A pair of local high schoolers will be headed to the Angels organization - shortstop Nonie Williams of Kansas City, Kansas, and pitcher Cole Duesning of Blue Valley Northwest in Overland Park, Kansas.

Dayton Moore has shown a preference in grabbing local kids later in the draft, and he continued that tradition this season. In the 13th round, the Royals selected Leawood, Kansas native Logan Gray, out of Austin Peay University. The second baseman graduated from Rockhurst High School and showed good power for his position in college and may well be a steal at his round. The Royals also grabbed Junction City, Kansas native Nick Heath in the 16th round. Heath’s mother is a former track star at Kansas State, and he appears to have inherited some of her speed as a centerfielder for Northwestern State University.

The Royals looked to the Missouri side late in the draft, picking University of Central Missouri reliever Gavin Grant in the 29th round, a Parkville native that graduated from St. Pius X. They also grabbed outfielder Kameron Misner out of Poplar Bluff, in the 33rd round. In the very next round they selected Lee’s Summit North grad Nathan Webb, a right-handed pitcher.

Below is a list of players selected that attended Kansas City-area high schools or local colleges.