Stephen Edelson,Bob JordanAsbury Park Press
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Christian Brothers Academy 2024 graduate Chris Levonas became a Day One selection in the MLB First Year Player Draft Sunday night when the Milwaukee Brewers used the 67th overall pick on the right-handed pitcher. Levonas was taken during Competitive Balance Round B between the second and third rounds. He's the 20th Shore player to be taken before the third round in the history of the draft.
A year ago, it was Jackson Memorial graduate Ryan Lasko from Rutgers becoming the first former Shore Conference player to get selected in the first round of the MLB First Year Player Draft since 2016 when he was taken by the Oakland Athletics with the 41st pick overall.
Levonas went 4-0 for Christian Brothers Academhy this spring and impressed major league scouts over his 31 2/3 innings. Now Levonas is faced with deciding between signing with the Brewers or going on with a college commitment to Wake Forest.
Pat Light was drafted in the first round in 2012 out of Monmouth University, the only CBA player selected higher than Levonas.
Levonas went 9-2 during his high school career, with an ERA of 1.15 and a WHIP of 0.74. The 6-2, right-handed fireballer pushed himself into the draft conversation with a junior season in which he went 5-1, striking out 73 batters in 42 innings.
More: The remarkable journey of Rutgers baseball's Big Ten Player of the Year
Prior to Sunday night, here are the former Shore Conference players taken in the first five rounds of the MLB Draft since its inception in 1965:
Round 1
Year Player (high school/college) Position Team
2023 Ryan Lasko (Jackson Memorial/Rutgers) OF Athletics
2016 Jason Groome (Barnegat) LHP Red Sox
2016 Matt Thaiss (Jackson Mem./Virginia) IF Angels
2012 Pat Light (CBA/Monmouth) RHP Red Sox
2010 Anthony Ranaudo (St. Rose/LSU) RHP Red Sox
2007 Todd Frazier (TR South/Rutgers) IF Reds
1998 J.M. Gold (TR North) RHP Brewers
1987 Jack Armstrong (Neptune/Oklahoma) RHP Reds
1985 Jim Hunter (Midd. North./Georgia) RHP Expos
1983 Jeff Kunkel (Midd. South/Rider) IF Rangers
1975 Denny Walling (Howell) IF Athletics
1967 Fred Kampf (Shore/Miami) RHP Athletics
Round 2
1984 John Farrell (Shore/Oklahoma St.) RHP Cleveland
1984 Jim Hunter (Midd. North/Brookdale) RHP Orioles
1984 Tom Forrester (TR South/Miami-Dade) LHP Angles
1984 Al Leiter (Central) LHP Yankees
1979 Rick Wysocki (Lakewood) RHP Reds
1966 Bill Geiger (Keyport) RHP Athletics
Round 3
2004 Jeff Frazier (TR South/Rutgers) OF Tigers
2002 Val Majewski (Freehold Twp./Rutgers) OF Orioles
1989 Jerry DiPoto (TR North/VCU) RHP Cleveland
1986 Jack Armstrong (Neptune/Rider) RHP Giants
1971 Jim Vosk (Middletown) RHP Red Sox
Round 4
2022 Trey Dombroski (Wall/Monmouth) LHP Astros
2021 Shane Panzini (RBC) RHP Royals
1998 David DeJesus (Manalapan/Rutgers) OF Royals
1983 Mark Leiter Sr. (Central) RHP Orioles
1968 Ken O’Donnell (Neptune) IF Royals
1968 Fred Kampf (Shore/Miami) RHP Athletics
Round 5
2023 Noah Dean (Pinelands/Old Dominion) LHP Red Sox
2023 Liam Simon (Freehold Twp./Notre Dame) RHP Giants
2016 Joey Rose (TR North) IF Diamondbacks
1996 Ira Tilton (Shore Regional/Siena College) Phillies
1995 Dawan Elliott (Long Branch) OF Pirates
1968 Larry Shaw (Matawan) OF/IF Cleveland
1965 Fred Kampf (Shore) RHP Cleveland
Rutgers: Josh Kuroda-Grauer picked by Oakland Athletics; Donovan Zsak to Cleveland Guardians
Rutgers shortstop Josh Kuroda-Grauer, who played at Franklin High School, was selected by the Oakland Athletics with the 75th overall pick in the third round of the 2024 MLB Draft on Monday afternoon.
Kuroda-Grauer will link up with a pair of familiar faces in the Athletics' farm system, as 2023 teammates Ryan Lasko and Drew Conover were both drafted by Oakland in 2023 and play for the Single-A Stockton Ports.
More: The remarkable journey of Rutgers baseball's Big Ten Player of the Year
A junior from Somerset, Kuroda-Grauer put together one of the finest seasons in Rutgers history in 2024, emerging as one of the top shortstops in the country. He started all 53 games at shortstop for the Scarlet Knights, led the country in regular season hits (95) and hits/game (1.79), ranked second with a .428 batting average, stole 24 bases and committed just seven errors all season. Kuroda-Grauer also had 29 multi-hit games, 10 three-hit games and had a streak of five straight games with three-plus hits. He was was named Big Ten Player of the Year.
The Cleveland Guardians selected Rutgers left-handed pitcher Donovan Zsak with the 235th overall pick in the eighth round. Zsak attended high school at Saint Joseph of Metuchen.
On the wrap-up Day 3 of the draft, two more Scarlet Knights – LHP Justin Sinibaldi and INF Tony Santa Maria – heard their names called.
Sinibaldi, a Bridgewater native, was taken in the 14th round with the 409th overall pitch by the Chicago White Sox. In his college career, Sinibaldi appeared in 58 games (33 starts), posting a 12-6 record, 4.14 ERA, 163 strikeouts in 197.2 innings pitched and a .257 batting average against.
Santa Maria, of Absecon, was picked by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 19th round with the 576th overall pick. Despite missing the majority of 2023 due to injury, Santa Maria posted a career average of .315 with 24 home runs, 126 RBIs, a .979 OPS, 116 runs scored, 22 stolen bases and five triples.
(Rutgers Sports Information Department)
