June 10 - Oakton’s Joe Rizzo was the first local player selected in this week’s Major League Baseball Draft, as the reigning 6A State Player of the Year was taken with the 50th overall selection in the second round by the Seattle Mariners.
Rizzo was the lone area player picked on Day One of the draft, when the first two rounds were held. On Day Two, Flint Hill’s Khalil Lee was taken in the third round by the Kansas City Royals, with High Point University’s Andre Scrubb (C.D. Hylton) going in the eighth round to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who later took University of Maryland-Baltimore County’s Kevin Lachance (Centreville) in the 10th round.
Rizzo was a four-year starter for the Cougars, hitting .439 for his career and totaling 118 hits while earning back-to-back All-Met honors by The Washington Post. He was the magazine’s NOVA Nine Team Player of the Year last spring, when he hit .606.
"We're very excited for Joe," Oakton coach Justin Janis said. "He's worked exceptionally hard to put himself in this position, and it couldn't happen to a better person."
A member of the Evoshield Canes during the offseason, he helped the showcase program win a national championship last summer, and appeared in the Perfect Game All-American Classic in San Diego last summer. Rizzo has committed to play at the University of South Carolina, and plans to take some time to contemplate whether to sign a professional contract or honor his scholarship with the Gamecocks.
Last year’s No. 50 overall pick, Arizona State left-hander Brett Lilek, signed a $1 million signing bonus after being selected by the Miami Marlins.
Lee, meanwhile, was the first local off the board on Day Two, going 103rd overall today to a Royals organization that has several ties to Northern Virginia. Kansas City’s general manager Dayton Moore and assistant GM J.J. Picollo both served as assistant coaches at George Mason University in the early 1990s under current Patriots coach Billy Brown.
A two-way standout, Lee also played in last summer's Perfect Game All-American Classic and was named the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) Division I State Player of the Year this spring, when he hit .471 with six home runs and 23 RBI and went 7-0 with two saves, a 0.33 earned run average and 87 strikeouts to just three walks in 43 innings. Lee has committed to play at Liberty University, and it was also unknown if he would sign or attend the Lynchburg school.
Scrubb, who helped Hylton to the Group AAA Norhwest Region championship and an appearance in the state quarterfinals in 2013, went 6-1 with a 2.50 ERA as a junior at High Point this spring. The big 6-foot-4, 260-pound right-hander had 48 strikeouts in 54 innings over 19 appearances for the Panthers.
Lachance hit .373 with 12 doubles, six homers, 29 RBI and 28 steals as a senior at UMBC this season in earning first-team All-America East Conference honors. A four-year starter for the Retrievers, he finished with a career .301 average and 232 hits.
His high school coach, Morgan Spencer, has enjoyed watching his progression.
“As a high school kid, Kevin was a very talented player, had all the tools,” said Spencer, who is now the head coach at South Lakes. “He was a very heady player and he knew the game. But what was even more evident about Kevin was how driven he was to be a good player, as well as his leadership skills. Just a kid who had a very high baseball IQ.
“I’m very proud of how he’s developed and where he’s come.”
The selections of Scrubb and Lachance come a year after the Dodgers took former McLean standout and College World Series hero Josh Sborz with the 74th overall selection out of the University of Virginia.
"I'm very humbled and I obviously want to thank the Dodgers organization for drafting me," Lachance said. "I'm thrilled and honored by the opportunity they're giving me. I also want to give a big thank you to my family, friends, teammates and coaches for all they've done to help me get here."
Several other local players are expected to be selected on the final day of the draft tomorrow, when rounds 11-40 are held.
Photo of Rizzo by Jane Davis and of Lachance courtesy of UMBC Baseball Pix
