Six 2017 Draftees Joining Lake Monsters
BURLINGTON, VT --- Six players selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 2017 Major League Draft will be joining Vermont this weekend during the Lake Monsters three-game series at Tri-City. The six players include the 33rd overall pick Kevin Merrell from the University of South Florida and fourth-round selection Will
BURLINGTON, VT --- Six players selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 2017 Major League Draft will be joining Vermont this weekend during the Lake Monsters three-game series at Tri-City. The six players include the 33rd overall pick Kevin Merrell from the University of South Florida and fourth-round selection Will Toffey from the University of Vanderbilt.
Merrell was Oakland's pick in the Competitive Balance portion of the draft between the first and second rounds. A two-time first-team All-American Athletic Conference selection and 2017 Baseball America second-team All-American, Merrell hit .384 (83-for-216) with 48 runs, 11 doubles, four triples, seven homers, 38 RBI and 19 steals in 52 games for South Florida.
Toffey hit .354 (73-for-206) with 55 runs, 13 doubles, 12 homers and 64 RBI in 56 games for a 2017 Vanderbilt team that reached the NCAA SuperRegionals. During the previous NCAA Clemson Regional, Toffey was named MVP after going 9-for-19 with three home runs and 10 RBI.
Merrell and Toffey are two of four infielders joining the Lake Monsters, along with 11th-round pick Ryan Gridley (Misssissippi State) and 12th-rounder Aaron Arruda (Fresno State). The other two draft picks headed to Vermont are outfielders: 10th-rounder Jack Meggs (Washington) and 16th-round pick Payton Squier (UNLV).
Gridley was the 2017 first-team All-SEC shortstop after hitting .327 (88-for-269) with 50 runs, 15 doubles, six homers and 39 RBI in 67 games for MSU. Arruda. a two-time first-team All-Mountain West pick, hit .373 (91-for-244) with 57 runs, 17 doubles, 15 homers and 67 RBI in 60 games for Fresno.
Meggs, who played for his father at the University of Washington, was a 2017 honorable mention All-Pac 12 pick after hitting .265 (53-for-200) with 40 runs, 15 doubles, three homers and 18 RBI in 52 games for the Huskies. Squier, who hit .329 (73-for-222) with 35 runs, nine doubles, three homers and 33 RBI in 56 games for UNLV this spring, was a first-team All-Mountain West selection.
The six draftees will be with Vermont for the three-game series at Tri-City before making their home debuts when the Lake Monsters return Wednesday, June 28th to historic Centennial Field for a five-game homestand against Staten Island and Lowell through Sunday, July 2nd.