• Notes from Day 1 of Draft
• Host family applications open
• Dinner on the Diamond

Notes from Day 1 of Draft

Good morning Osprey fans, yesterday was a big day here at Osprey headquarters with the first day of the 2014 MLB First-Year Player draft. The Diamondbacks slithered into the fountain of youth with four draftees that have never enrolled in a college class.

Touki Time!!

Striaght from Phoenix-The Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) selected right-handed pitcher Touki Toussaint (@_YoSoy_Touki) out of Coral Springs (Fla.) Christian Academy with their first selection (16th overall) in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

 Toussaint, 17, went 8-2 with a 1.22 ERA in 63.1 innings pitched while striking out 104 batters for the Crusaders. The Vanderbilt commit led Coral Springs to the Florida State Final Four en route to being named the Miami Herald 2014 5A-2A Pitcher of the Year. In Toussaint’s junior campaign, he garnered invitations to the Perfect Game (PETCO Park) and Under Amour (Wrigley Field) All-American games, and as a sophomore, struck out 18 batters over 6.0 innings pitched in the PG World Wood Bat Championships. Toussaint earned a gold medal with the USA Baseball 16U National Team in 2011.

 “We’re really excited to add this type of arm, athlete and talent to our system,” said  Ray Montgomery, the Arizona Diamondbacks Director of Scouting. “Touki has an electric fastball, a plus curveball and a combination of two or three pitches that are starter quality. He’s very advanced, very worldly and the type of person that Touki is off the field, still outweighs the talent he has on the field.”

 The 6-for-2, 198-pound right-handed pitcher was rated by Baseball America as the nation’s third-best high school pitcher and MLB.com as the No. 8 Prospect, overall, in today’s draft. Toussaint is the 20th first-round selection for the D-backs and 11th taken from the high school ranks. The D-backs had two first-round selections in 2003, 2009 and 2011.

Toussaint spent a handful of his childhood years in Haiti after his birth in Pembroke Pines. His family later returned to Florida in 2004 and attended Coral Springs Christian Academy starting his sophomore year. Baseball is a recent love for Toussaint,with most of his success coming over the past couple of years. Baseball America stated that, “Toussaint might have the least baseball experience of any top draft prospect, yet arguable the highest ceiling of any high school pitcher.”

Ray Montgomery said, “I think the person may outweigh the talent. He’s a very good athlete that can handle the bat. He plays shortstop when he doesn’t pitch. I do like the overall athleticism and I like that he played other sports. I really like that he wasn’t involved in one sport his whole life. He’s a really worldly kid.”

Toussaint initially committed to the University of Miami but later rescinded his commitment to the Hurricanes and currently holds a verbal pledge to Vanderbilt University.

Reed about Cody

The D-backs selected left-handed pitcher Cody Reed with the 54th pick in the second round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Reed, a native of Ardmore, Alabama, went 10-2 with a 0.46 ERA this spring. The 6′ 3″, 250-pounder was recently named the Gatorade Alabama Baseball Player of the Year. In leading the Ardmore High School Tigers to the ASHAA Class 4A state championship round, Reed racked up the second-highest strikeout total in state history by totaling 226 strikeouts. Equally impressive, he only walked 17 batters in 92 innings. His 0.46 ERA was also put him in the record books for the single-season seventh lowest for pitchers with at least 50 innings. Reed also boats a 20-strikeout career game.

Reed also put on a show at the plate with a .494 average, 6 homeruns, 33 RBI, and an .800 slugging percentage. The lefty features a fastball that has reportedly reached as high as 95 mph to showcase his four-pitch mix.

Baseball America ranked the 17-year old Reed the 44th prospect in the nation, and MLB.com placed him at 61st.

Similar to Toussaint, Reed is also a Vanderbilt University commit. That brings our Vandy commit total to 2 from Day 1.

Position Players show up in Comp. Balance Round B

The D-backs selected with the 69th pick of the draft in Competitive Balance Round B outfielder Marcus Wilson from Junipero Serra High School in Gardena, California. Arizona also picked at 70th and took another high school prospect in shortstop Isan Diaz from Springfield Central High School in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Wilson, who checks in at 6′ 3″, 175 pounds, has a very projectable frame with his young age. He hit .359 with 5 homeruns and 17 RBI as a senior. The outfielder made one error his entire senior campaign and was perfect in stolen base attempts. The 17-year old also pitched to a 1.34 ERA on the mound but figures to develop in the outfield in Arizona’s system. Wilson jumped out to scouts at the Major League Scouting Bureau Southern California Invitational Showcase at the Urban Youth Academy in Compton.

Isan Diaz, 5’10”, 180 pounds, is a high school shortstop that projects at second base in the Arizona farm system. The senior led Springfield Central to the Valley Wheel League championship as a junior.

As a senior, he posted a .509 average, .651 on-base percentage, .930 slugging percentage, 4 homeruns, and 8 doubles. The lefty bat was tabbed as Baseball America’s 55th best prospect in the nation.

Diaz was born in Puerto Rico and moved to the United States at a young age. Similar to first round pick Touki Toussaint, Diaz moved into the country around the start of elementary school and transferred high schools before his sophomore year.

Out of the four draft picks Thursday, three are Vanderbilt University commits as Isan Diaz joins Touki Toussaint and Cody Reed. Marcus Wilson is committed to Arizona State University.

So the D-Backs choose four high schoolers, and Tom Corbin of Vanderbilt isn’t the happiest of campers to see three potential anchors in Nashville slither their way to the Desert.

Host Family Applications Open

The Missoula Osprey are in the process of accepting applications from interested people who wish to be host families for the upcoming 2014 season.

The host family program is a way for players to have a home away from home, as they play in Missoula over the summer. Players pay a minimum of $200 to the host family for rent, and are responsible for their own transportation and food. The players will arrive on June 13, with opening day scheduled for June 19, and stay until early September.

People who are interested in serving as a host family may call the Osprey at (406) 543-3300 and request an application, or stop by the MSO Hub Box Office at 140 N. Higgins to pick up an application.

For more information, please contact Grant Warner at (406) 541-9314.

Dinner on the Diamond

The Missoula Osprey in conjunction with the Hospice Care Foundation, Missoula Aging Services and Aspen Hospice of Montana announced their partnership on the second annual Dinner on the Diamond that will take place Thursday, July 24 at Ogren Park Allegiance Field.

The unique evening will allow event-goers to have dinner on the Blackfoot Party Deck at Ogren Park Allegiance Field. A buffet-style traditional ballpark menu with sides, soda, water and dessert is on tap. Beer and wine will be available for purchase.

Tickets for the event are $25 per person. Tickets for a family of four to five may be purchased for $100. Call the Hospice Care Foundation for other ticket options.

The gates will open at 5:30 p.m. for a social time, with dinner and games scheduled from 6-8 and music by DJ Aaron Traylor as well as dancing and other activities from 8 – 10 p.m.

The event will also feature a reverse raffle, silent auction and 50-50 raffle.

Tickets for the event are on sale at the MSO Hub Box Office and from the Hospice Care Foundation, Aspen Hospice of Montana and Missoula Aging Services.

Happy Day 3 of the Draft, check back this weekend for more info on who Arizona chooses today!