Men UConn and 2021 MLB Draft

[Tmill15]

Guess ya take the sure thing…



-> Andrew Marrero is officially a Cardinal.Marrero, the New Haven product who just finished his sophomore season at UConn, will sign with the St. Louis Cardinals, who selected him in the 18th round of the MLB Draft on Tuesday. “I’m super-excited,” Marrero said by phone on Wednesday. “I still can’t believe it.”

Marrero, a Wilbur Cross graduate, will head down to the Cardinals’ spring training complex in Jupiter, Florida on Friday to begin his professional career. <-

-> Marrero said he was expecting Arizona to select him. But when that fell through, he got a call from his advisor/agent, Brian Charles, that the Cardinals were interested. “I got super-happy,” he said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m so down for that amount (of money) and I really want to go with them.’”

Marrero, who was the draft’s 541st pick overall, wouldn’t reveal the signing bonus he’ll receive from the Cardinals, but did note that he’ll get a fair chance with the organization.

“It came down to basically knowing I could move up a lot quicker than I thought,” he said. “The organization is a really great organization, and I know that it has a lot of great pitchers and players. I know that they’re going to give me the opportunity I need.” <-

Was hoping he would return and potentially improve his draft stock to get a larger bonus but I’m happy for him. He’s in a great organization so he will do really well

 

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[huskymedic]

A blurb from the UConn Report put out by Hearst (CT Post, NH Register, etc…)

-> Basketball school with baseball cred​

On Sunday morning, the Boston Red Sox announced closer Matt Barnes signed a contract extension. Two days later, Barnes — Bethel native, UConn product — was pitching in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. On Sunday night, the Kansas City Royals selected Ellington native Frank Mozzicato with the seventh overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft. Mozzicato, who led East Catholic to a state title, was long committed to UConn before rising in the eyes of scouts and securing a hefty signing bonus that will lure him from Storrs. By the end of the draft Tuesday, five current UConn players were selected. Does the baseball world revolve around a basketball school? It only seems that way, but we got a snapshot of the power of UConn baseball in the span of a few July days this week. Let’s not take Jim Penders and his program for granted. Against the long odds attached to running a college baseball operation in weather-challenged New England, Penders has spent 18 years steering his Huskies to wins, postseason berths, and professional careers. The winningest coach in program history, Penders has seen 57 of his players drafted and seven land in the big leagues. And how about big league money? Shortstop Nick Ahmed, a Gold Glove winner with the Arizona Diamondbacks, signed a four-year, $32.5 million contract last year. Barnes, one baseball’s best relievers this season, is guaranteed $18.75 million from his contract extension. Former UConn teammate George Springer, from New Britain, signed a six-year, $150 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays last winter after establishing himself as a star with the Houston Astros. Penders has drawn a stream of Connecticut talent to UConn, from Barnes and Springer through the 18 state players on the 2021 roster. Three of those 18 were selected in the MLB Draft this week: Westport’s Ben Casparius(Dodgers), Orange’s Pat Winkel (Twins), and New Haven’s Andrew Marrero (Cardinals). Mozzicato, with a multi-million dollar signing bonus awaiting him, won’t be pitching at UConn next year. But this much we know: the pipeline of talent — from within our state borders or not — will continue to land in Storrs. That's been the story for 18 years. — Paul Doyle <-​

 

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Alternate access link here <<

-> The Dodgers liked him, his agent said, but cautioned it was between Casparius and five other guys at pick 162. Casparius didn’t get his hopes up. But just a minute before Los Angeles made its selection, his agent called once more. Casparius was a Dodger.

“I’ll never forget it,” he said. “That was pretty cool. I got to go relay it to my parents, and we were all kind of waiting there for my name to get called. Then [the broadcast] went over where I ranked and my profile as a player, it was really cool. It was a huge realization, a lot of weight came off my shoulders in those couple of minutes.”

He’ll fly out to Los Angeles on Sunday to undergo a medical evaluation, participate in a workout and sign his contract which carries a slot value of $318,200. While he’d seemed destined for the pros since high school, a gentle nudge from MLB scouts and a season at UConn — which has had 20 pitchers drafted since 2010 — helped solidify his case. <-

-> “Being from Connecticut, when I played for UConn, I represented the state,” Casparius said. “I think it stemmed off from a lot of success I had in high school, too. Just to keep that momentum back in the state of Connecticut was pretty cool. Having something to do with Connecticut, it makes it a lot more special.” <-

 

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[navery12]

 

[storrsroars]

Slot for the #7 pick was $5.432 mill, so Mozzicato is saving KC about $1.9 mill for their other picks. The amount Mozzicato signed for is about halfway between slot for the 17th and 18th picks, which is pretty much the highest any mock had him going, though most had him in the 24-37 range.

 

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McFarland’s full story here <<

 

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-> Winkel will leave for the Twins’ spring training complex in Fort Myers, Florida on Monday to start writing that new chapter. He’ll take physicals and sign his contract, which will be for significantly more than his pick value of $150,500. Then, he’ll head straight into a mini-camp, which Winkel doesn’t know how long will last. <-

 

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-> Power Majors - The impact that Power Major programs have had on the recruiting trail hit its highest point in this year’s draft with UConn recruit, LHP Frank Mozzicato, going 7th overall to the Royals. The Huskies have been the Northeast’s major power thanks to strong recruiting over the past decade but were hit hard with mid 90s RHP Owen Kellington (Pirates-4th Round) also going early on. <-

 

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[dbmill]

Of course, that "up and down year" might have had something to do with having to catch every game for several weeks including a number of weekend doubleheaders during the time the backup catcher was injured and unable to play.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Of course, that "up and down year" might have had something to do with having to catch every game for several weeks including a number of weekend doubleheaders during the time the backup catcher was injured and unable to play.

SO TRUE. He was worn down and ultimately that affects all aspects of his game. Not his fault - he sacrificed himself for the team.

 

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[tjhusky]

Orange Live (his hometown) interview with Pat Winkel

Q & A With Orange’s Pat Winkel, Twins Baseball Draft Pick

If you are from the Amity area, you know the name Pat Winkel. If you are lucky enough to have met him, you know how genuine, polite and smart he is. If you’ve been fortunate enough to have se…

orangectlive.com

 

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[UConnRock]

Hoping for good news on Kellington. Pirates have signed all of there bonus pool draftees except Kellington and only have a little over $600k of bonus money left which is not much above slot money of $571k. The 3 high schoolers picked by the pirates before Kellington were $450k to $2m over their respective slot money. Is a $600k bonus after taxes enough to toil away in the minors for 4+ years?

 

[dbmill]

Hoping for good news on Kellington. Pirates have signed all of there bonus pool draftees except Kellington and only have a little over $600k of bonus money left which is not much above slot money of $571k. The 3 high schoolers picked by the pirates before Kellington were $450k to $2m over their respective slot money. Is a $600k bonus after taxes enough to toil away in the minors for 4+ years?

It would seem that we should soon know whether pro ball or college ball at UConn is in the immediate future for Owen Kellington. The MLB draft signing deadline is reported to be August 1, which is just around the corner at this point. He certainly has a big decision to make for himself.