Brooks Hatch Blog: Harrison, Widell Selected in MLB Draft

Happy Tuesday, everyone, from the world-wide headquarters (WWHQ) of the Corvallis Knights, your 2016 West Coast League champions!

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Two former players for the Corvallis Knights were selected on Tuesday in rounds 3-10 of the Major League Baseball draft.

Oregon State junior first baseman K.J. Harrison, a 2015 Knight, was picked by Milwaukee in the third round as the 84^th overall selection. He hit .444 (4-9) in two games with the Knights before joining Team USA.

Left-hander Ryley Widell (2016) of Central Arizona College went to the Minnesota Twins in the seventh round as the 190th overall pick. He was 3-1, 2.17 in 13 games, with 46 strikeouts in 41.1 innings. He earned honorable-mention all-WCL honors and was ranked 27^th on Perfect Game’s list of the top 30 pro prospects.

The draft concludes on Wednesday with rounds 11-40.

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The Knights host the Port Angeles Lefties, the West Coast League’s newest club, at 6:40 p.m. on Wednesday to open the home portion of our West Coast League season. The Lefties, who complete a series at Victoria on Tuesday night, are the former Kitsap Blue Jackets, who relocated following the 2016 season.

A pair of Northwest Conference left-handers will get the starts for the Knights in the three-game series, which continues at 6:40 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. Pacific Lutheran’s Cole Johnson goes on Wednesday; Linfield’s Cason Cunningham gets the ball on Friday. Thursday’s starter is TBA.

The Knights finished a season-opening nine-game road trip to Cowlitz, Bellingham and Bend on Tuesday while Oregon State hosted two NCAA regionals at Goss Stadium. We expect to have some reinforcements for their first homestand of the summer as players continue to arrive in Corvallis.

The newest Knights are pitchers Nick Morales and Darren Nelson, outfielders Kevin Watson, Jr., and Henry Cheney, and catcher Troy Claunch. Watson Jr. and Claunch are Oregon State signees; Morales will play at San Jose State, Nelson at Cal Poly. Cheney is a rising sophomore at Portland.

Oregon’s Taylor Travess and Gabe Matthews can play on Friday, when the academic year ends. Our players from UC Irvine, UC Riverside and Cal Poly should be here for at least part of the weekend Cowlitz series.

Wednesday is KRKT Opening Night. The first 500 fans will receive a mini replica 2016 WCL Championship Trophy. It’s also Spindrift Wine Cellars night, with special prices on a pour, and $2 general admission for our fans age 60 and older.

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Lancaster (A California, Rockies) catcher Chris Rabago (2012-13) was 3-for-5 with two RBIs in a 13-6 win over Lake Elsinore on Monday night to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors. He played at UC-Irvine.

Honorable mention goes to:

• Greenville (A South Atlantic, Red Sox) closer Stephen Nogosek (2013) pitched a scoreless ninth and earned his 12^th save in a 6-4 win over Augusta. He played at Oregon.
• Jupiter (A Florida State, Marlins) lefty Ben (formerly Wetzler) Holmes (2011) pitched a scoreless inning, had one strikeout and recorded his second hold in a 1-0 win over St. Lucie. He played at Oregon State.

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Five former West Coast League stars were picked in the first two rounds of the MLB draft on Monday. Wenatchee AppleSox alum Keston Hiura of UC Irvine was the ninth overall pick in the first round, the highest WCL alum selection ever in the MLB June draft. Please click here for full details.

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The Wenatchee AppleSox are paying tribute to the 80th anniversary of the establishment of minor league baseball in the Wenatchee Valley, by wearing throwback 1937 Wenatchee Chief uniforms once per three-game series at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium this year.

The collegiate-summer league (WCL) AppleSox have four uniforms this season, and are wearing the “Chiefs” name across their chests once-per-series for the first time in franchise history. Click here for more on that story, from Our Sports Central.

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That’s all for today. See you at Goss Stadium tomorrow night, and back on the blog on Thursday.