Baseball – Five College Players from the Shore Selected on Day 3 of MLB Draft
Five Shore Conference alumni were selected Saturday out of their respective college programs on day three of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
The Texas Rangers selected Jackson Memorial graduate Alex Daniele in the 19th round, the Tampa Bay Rays took Manalapan alum Joe Serrapica in the 24th, Red Bank Catholic alum Mike Rescigno went to the San Francisco Giants in the 25th round, Middletown South grad Howie Brey went to the Houston Astros in the 31st and the Giants also took former Central Regional ace Andrew DiPiazza in the 39th round.
Jackson Memorial grad and University of Virginia catcher Matt Thaiss was a first-round pick of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Thursday, making six Shore Conference alumni in college programs who heard their names called over the draft’s three days.
Alex Daniele, RHP, University of Oklahoma, Jackson Memorial H.S. – 19th round, 579th overall by the Texas Rangers
The Rangers took Daniele out of Oklahoma University with the 579th overall selection. Daniele played at New Jersey Institute of Technology after high school before transferring to Cisco Community College in Texas and eventually to Oklahoma for this season.
In his lone season as a Sooner, Daniele appeared in 11 games, pitching 12 1/3 innings with a 4.38 ERA and 17 strikeouts to go with 11 walks. Prior to joining Oklahoma, Daniele started 11 games for NJIT as a freshman in 2014 and struck out 66 in 60 innings. He posted a 4.20 ERA with a 4-4 record while allowing 56 hits and 28 walks.
Daniele was a sophomore on Jackson Memorial’s 2010 Central Jersey Group IV runner-up team and pitched 10 1/3 innings that season. He went 4-0 with a 1.91 ERA in 22 innings as a junior and as a senior, Daniele finished 5-1 with a 1.71 ERA, 35 strikeouts and 23 walks in 41 innings for a Jaguars team that won the Ocean County Tournament championship.
In his three-year varsity career with the Jaguars, Daniele went 10-1 with a 2.00 ERA, 62 strikeouts and 46 walks in 73 1/3 innings.
Joe Serrapica, RHP, Fordham University, Manalapan H.S. – 24th round, 720th overall by the Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay took Serrapica out of Fordham University with the 720th overall selection. As a senior this past season, Serrapica led the Rams staff in innings, going 5-5 with a 3.54 ERA, 92 strikeouts and 28 walks in 84 innings.
Last season, Serrapica struggled his way to an ERA exceeding 7.00 working primarily in relief, but worked with a fastball that topped out at 96 miles-per hour. Serrapica moved back to the starting rotation this season and made 14 of his 18 appearances as a starter. As a junior, Serrapica walked a shade more than five batters per nine innings but cut that number to an even three while also increasing his strikeout rate (8.83 to 9.86).
As a senior at Manalapan in 2012, Serrapica helped carry the Braves to a second consecutive NJSIAA Group IV championship game. He pitched a shutout in Manalapan’s 2-0 win over Hillsborough in the Group IV championship, which capped a 6-3 senior season. That year, Serrapica posted a 1.68 ERA and struck out 47 while walking 10 in 50 innings as a first-team All-Shore selection.
Mike Rescigno, RHP, University of Maryland, Red Bank Catholic H.S. – 25th round, 775th overall by the San Francisco Giants
The Giants selected a pair of former Shore Conference standouts Saturday – one in the 25th round and another in the penultimate 39th round. Rescigno heard his name called 755th overall by San Francisco, with the Giants tabbing him as a potential pitcher.
Rescigno converted to full-time relief pitcher after earning some starting time as a freshman infielder in 2014, followed by a transition to the bullpen as a sophomore. As a junior this past year, the 2013 Shore Sports Network Player of the Year made 23 appearances and struck out 23 while walking 11 in 19 1/3 innings with a 5.53 ERA.
While he sported an ERA north of 5.00, Rescigno tops out at 94 miles-per hour and has an effective breaking ball that helped rack up 10.71 strikeouts per nine innings.
As a senior at RBC, Rescigno was a two-way force for the Caseys. As a pitcher, he went 6-1 with a 1.76 ERA, 65 strikeouts and 29 walks in 41 1/3 innings. At the plate, he hit .444 with 11 doubles, four home runs, 32 runs scored and 21 RBI while posting an on-base percentage of .583 and a slugging percentage of .792.
Andre DiPiazza, Mercer County Community College, Central Reg. H.S. – 39th round, 1,175th overall by the San Francisco Giants
Fourteen rounds after taking Rescigno, the Giants selected DiPiazza, who spent this past season at Mercer County Community College.
After losing his freshman year at the University of Alabama to elbow problems, DiPiazza returned to N.J. and dominated the NJCAA in his first healthy college season. He went 12-1 with a 1.50 ERA, 109 strikeouts and 25 walks in 84 innings.
Prior to his college career, DiPiazza turned in two standout seasons to finish off a four-year varsity career at Central Regional. He was the 2013 Shore Sports Network Pitcher of the Year thanks to a 9-0 season with a 0.73 ERA. In 66 innings, DiPiazza struck out 106 and walked 28.
As a senior in 2014, DiPiazza was the Shore Sports Network Player of the Year, not only turning in another big season on the mound but also at the plate. DiPiazza finished 4-0 with a 0.96 ERA, 61 strikeouts and 12 walks in 44 innings. At the plate, he hit .423 with seven doubles, five home runs and 23 RBI while also slugging .732.
Howie Brey, LHP, Rutgers University, Middletown South H.S. – 31st round, 937th overall by the Houston Astros
Between the two Shore picks by the Giants, the Astros snatched up Brey in the 31st round out of Rutgers, where the former Middletown South standout emerged as a the go-to starter for the Scarlet Knights over the past two seasons.
This past year, Brey went 6-5 with a 3.50 ERA, 84 strikeouts and 23 walks in 100 1/3 innings of work. One year earlier, Brey led the Scarlet Knights in innings with 80 2/3, going 3-7 with a 5.58 ERA with 56 strikeouts and 36 walks. A 2012 graduate of Middletown South, Brey improved on the mound enough to go from undrafted as a junior to a 31st-round flier by the Astros.
Brey was a four-year varsity starter during his high school career at Middletown South, during which he helped lead the Eagles to a NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III championship as a junior in 2011. That season, Brey went 6-4 with a 1.94 ERA, 58 strikeouts and 16 walks in 65 innings.
As a senior the next year, we posted a record of 7-2 with a 1.80 ERA, 71 strikeouts and 21 walks in 62 1/3 innings. For his career, Brey went 20-9 with a 2.14 ERA and 188 strikeouts in 206 innings.
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