Three AAABA players selected in MLB Draft
June 19, 2011 - Three AAABA players have been selected in this year's MLB Entry Draft. Austin Urban from Johnstown and Cody Grice and Dan Bream from the Lake Erie (Toledo) Monarchs. Grice and Bream are the 40th and 41st players drafted from the Monarchs in team history.
Austin Urban was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 41st round. He played for Johnstown's Delweld team during their national runner-up finish last year. Urban played in 5 games and had 3 hits in 16 at-bats.
The eighteen year old currently attends Des Moines Area Community College in Iowa and is playing summer ball with the AAABA powerhouse Youse's Maryland Orioles of the Cal Ripken Collegiate League.
Urban has started in one game for the Orioles this season: a disappointing 1-0 loss to the Redbirds on June 19th. The Orioles are currently 3rd with a record of 7-5, but have also won 7 of the past 8 AAABA national championships. Last year, Urban started against the Orioles for Delweld, allowing 5 earned runs in 8 innings while walking 4 and striking out 3 in Baltimore's 7-0 victory.
Pictured left: Austin Urban pitching for Johnstown in 2010 at the Point Stadium. For more information on Austin, visit the DMACC website.
Cody Grice was drafted in the 12th round by the New York Yankees. He is currently a junior at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. He played in all 5 games for the Monarchs in their inaugural AAABA tournament in 2009. He was 6-for-19 including 3 doubles and 5 runs.
For the GVSU Lakers, he was third on the team with a 0.381 average with 14 doubles, 23 stolen bases and 59 RBIs in 57 games. He led the team with 31 walks. He holds the Lakers' career record for most runs-scored with 170 and helped lead the team to the DII World Series twice.
Pictured left: Cody Grice batting for Toledo in 2009 at Roxbury Park. For more information on Cody, visit the GVSU Lakers' website.
Dan Bream was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 33rd round. He is currently a senior at Southern Arkansas University. He pitched Toledo to a 3-1 victory over Philadelphia in the 2009 national tournament. He allowed 5 hits and 1 earned run while striking out 7 in the complete game victory. It was Toledo's first franchise win in Johnstown.
This season, Bream was second on the Mulerider's pitching staff with a 2.49 ERA in 17 appearances. He led the team with 12 wins and pitched 5 complete games. He also led the team with 98 strike outs in 108 innings pitched.
Pictured left: Dan Bream pitching for Toledo in 2009 at Roxbury Park. For more information on Dan, visit the Southern Arkansas University website.