Hello all!
I've just picked up a new gig with Examiner.com, the citizen news portal and content aggregator. As the Salt Lake Baseball Examiner, I'll be writing about baseball and softball from all along the Wasatch Front, covering professional, college and JUCO programs, with an occasional high school prep story as it catches my eye. Most of my posts will show up at Examiner.com, with The Sporkball Journals being reserved for longer articles or creative pieces. You also can follow my baseball tweets on Twitter: BeesGal_SLC. Thanks and I'll see you at the ballpark. As always, …your friend in baseball.
July 3rd, 2012
The MLB Draft for 2012 is over, although of course, players can still be signed as free agents. Here is a summary of the Utah athletes selected in this year's draft:
2012 MLB Draftees from Utah
| Name |
Position |
School |
MLB Team |
Round |
| Tyler Wagner |
P |
University of Utah |
Milwaukee Brewers |
4 |
| Parker Morin |
C |
University of Utah |
Kansas City Royals |
14 |
| Brady Lail (video) |
P |
Bingham High |
New York Yankees |
18 |
| James Brooks |
3B |
University of Utah |
Washington Nationals |
20 |
| Travis Huber |
P |
University of Nebraska (West Jordan High) |
Minnesota Twins |
23 |
| Chris Capper |
P |
Brigham Young University |
Arizona Diamondbacks |
26 |
| Chase Rezac |
P |
South Utah University |
Cincinnati Reds |
26 |
| Goose Kallunki |
1B |
Utah Valley University |
San Diego Padres |
27 |
| Austin Hall |
P |
Brigham Young University |
Milwaukee Brewers |
33 |
| Connor Williams (video) |
OF |
Bingham High |
Oakland A's |
36 |
Tyler Wagner
Parker Morin
Brady Lail
Chris Capper
Goose Kallunki
Austin Hall
Connor Williams
Connor Williams
Perhaps the most intriguing story involves the player who didn't get drafted this year, Kayden Porter of Spanish Fork (video). Projected by many sources as the top Utah prospect and a top-10 round pick before the start of the draft, the high school senior was named the ESPN/Gatorade Utah Player of the Year. A two-way ballplayer, Porter is a slugging first baseman who hit .368 with 10 home runs during his senior year. As a power pitcher, he finished the season 5-1 with a 1.79 ERA. His fastball has been clocked as high as 97 mph.
Porter was completely bypassed by MLB teams during the three-day selection process. One reason for the lack of interest from MLB teams could very well be due to questions about his signability. The high senior announced earlier this spring that unless he was selected in the top three rounds, he would play college ball for the 
University of North Carolina.
Porter had a white-hot 2011, during which he was projected as being the #9 national prospect for the 2012 MLB Draft during the 2011 Perfect Game National Showcase. That year he qualified to participate in the Triple-A All-Star Game Home Run Derby, along with senior Sam Hall of Bonneville High School. Competing side-by-side with the best hitters in Triple-A baseball, Porter came in second to the professional ballplayers. He hit the longest homerun of the evening, albeit using a metal bat, that sailed over the advertising banner sitting well beyond the left field fence and marking 474 feet from home plate .
Video from Martin Reinhardt
June 7th, 2012
