By KEVIN JAKAHI
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
Every year Blake Amaral produced at Hawaii Pacific, putting up impressive hitting numbers, and he was finally rewarded Wednesday, the last day of the Major League Baseball draft.
The Los Angeles Angels picked the HPU senior and 2008 Kamehameha graduate in the 40th round, the 1,226 player overall and ahead of 11 others in the final round of the three-day draft.
Recent Waiakea graduate Quintin Torres-Costa, who went six innings for a combined no-hitter in the state championship, went undrafted and so did recent Kapolei graduate Trey Kamachi-Allen, a right-hander with a fastball that exceeds 90 mph. They signed with Hawaii and Arizona State, respectively.
Los Angeles drafted the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Amaral as a right fielder. Besides outfield, he also played third base for the Sea Warriors, whose assistant coach is former major league Benny Agbayani.
Of the Angels’ 37 draft picks, only four were outfielders, including Amaral, who was undrafted out of Kamehameha, the same year Kolten Wong was drafted in the 16th round by the Minnesota Twins.
Amaral couldn’t be reached for comment.
On Baseball America’s Top 10 list of prospects, the Angels have just one outfielder — Mike Trout, who has already joined the major league club.
In the world of sabermetrics, Amaral put up shining stats over his four-year career at HPU, which plays on the Division II level, averaging a .384 batting average, five homers, 44 RBIs, a .444 on-base percentage and .601 slugging for an OPS of 1.045 per season.
OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) measures a player’s ability to get on base and hit for power, the two most efficient ways to score runs. It is one of the most valued commodities for new-school major league front offices, which are filled with sabermetricians such as Bill James, who works for the Boston Red Sox.
James devised a grade scale from A or great (.900 OPS or higher) to G or atrocious (.566 or lower). Most major leaguers are in the B or moderate (.833 to .899), C or above average (.767 to .833) or D or average (.700 to .766) range.
For comparison, St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Wong, in just his second year of pro ball at Double-A Springfield, has a .377 on-base and .444 slugging average for an .821 OPS, often facing former high-round draft picks.
The Cardinals drafted four shortstops, and one second baseman, Bruce Caldwell out of a South Carolina junior college in the 15th round. The highest shortstop drafted was the University of Arizona’s Alex Mejia in the fourth round.
Wong is No. 5 on Baseball America’s Top 10 list. He is also being fast-tracked, already a year ahead on the normal developmental ladder. Most second-year minor leaguers spend a full season at a high Single-A affiliate.
Other players with Hawaii ties drafted on the final day were a pair of Rainbows: senior pitcher Matt Sisto to the Philadelphia Phillies in the 20th round and junior outfielder Breland Almadova to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 37th round.
Hawaii senior third baseman Collin Bennett, who hit .328 with three homers, 33 RBIs and had a .889 OPS, was not drafted. One likely reason was his junior year: .292 batting average, zero homers, 20 RBIs, and a .370 on-base and .354 slugging average.
Bennett could be a candidate for the Hawaii Stars as well as Rainbow pitchers Brent Harrison and Jesse Moore, who are also both out of eligibility, giving the independent North American Baseball League ballclub added local name recognition.
On the Stars’ roster, the homegrown products are pitchers Ronnie Loeffler, Cortney Arruda and Michael Kenui and outfielder Reece Alnas.
“I agree about getting local guys,” Stars general manager Frank Hecomovich said. “We’ll try to now that the draft is over. The problem is our 20-man roster is full and that’s the league limit. We’ll take a look at the ballclub. I know Kaha Wong is working on it.
“We can release guys and we have an injured reserve list. We have the flexibility to do that.”
Hecomovich worked as a national crosschecker for the Minnesota Twins for 12 years, based on Oahu. He now lives in Hilo. His job was to confirm reports from mainland area scouts, who turned in reports on players visiting to play the Rainbows. He also scouted the local scene as well.
He has followed the careers of the local players, including Torres-Costa and Amaral. And Hecomovich believes both Big Island ballplayers have a bright future at the next level — Torres-Costa at UH and Amaral with the Angels.
“Quintin had a great state tournament. I’m a little surprised he didn’t get drafted,” Hecomovich said. “But the mainland scouts weren’t there. That makes a big difference. He’s got a great future. I’m happy he’s going to UH.
“Blake had all the tools and he applied himself. He did all the things he needed to do in terms of his personality, being a leader on the team, and he showed all the characteristics of being able to handle the next level.”
Hawaii Stars notes
The team’s website — hawaiistarsprobaseball.com — was up and running on Tuesday. However, the game-day tracking feature wasn’t working. It also didn’t post a score for the season-opener against Maui.
Maui Na Koa Ikaika beat the Hawaii Stars 4-3 on Tuesday night before a record crowd of 2,818 at Iron Maehara Stadium. Alnas, a 2007 Kamehameha graduate, had a hit.
The Hawaii Stars’ home opener is Tuesday against the Sonoma County Grape at 5:35 p.m. at Wong Stadium, in the first of a six-game series.
Tickets are $7 for general admission and Kids Club season tickets are $10.
For more information, visit the team’s website at hawaiistarsprobaseball.com. The league’s website is northamericanleague.com.