Photo couresty of MinorLeagueNetwork.com
Day 1 of the MLB Draft — encompassing the first and first “sandwich” (Compensation A) rounds — proved once again that some of the biggest and brightest future stars get their start in the Alaska Baseball League. But so far in this draft, it’s been the St. Louis Cardinals who have corned the market for ABL Alumni, drafting all three players taken on the first day.
Former Mat-Su Miner James Ramsey, a senior outfielder out of Florida state, was chosen by the St. Louis Cardinals during the first round; #23 overall. Ramsey, a high-average line-drive hitter, was ranked the #15 prospect in the ABL in 2009 when his bat helped propel the Miners to a league championship.
Joining Ramsey in the Cardinals organization will be Stephen Piscotty, formerly of the 2010 Peninsula Oilers and, ironically, the Stanford Cardinals. He was selected by St. Louis in the first compensation round, #36 overall. Piscotty was ranked the league’s Top Prospect when he was in Alaska and went on to seal the deal coast-to-coast by taking home the Cape Cod League batting title in the summer of 2011.
Also drafted in round Compensation A was Piscotty’s former Oilers teammate Patrick Wisdom, a two-year Alaska Leaguer in 2010 and 2011. A 52nd-round pick, the Cards will be banking on Wisdom’s power potential blossoming into full-on sluggerdom; perhaps the type that another former Alaska Baseball League player and St. Louis Cardinal exhibited when he went on to break that little single-season home run record a few years back.
But we’re just scratching the surface of what is a long, drawn out MLB draft that will span the next two days. With three ABL alumni already off the board and 50 rounds to go, there will surely be plenty more former Bucs, Pilots, Oilers, Miners, Fire and Goldpanners selected. Check back tomorrow for more draft updates!
Jesse Jack is a life-long Alaskan (except for a stint in Montana) who studies Civil Engineering at the University of Alaska Anchorage from August through May, and lives at the ballpark during June and July. 
