WEYMOUTH, Mass. (July 14, 2021) -- The Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) counts 27 current and former players selected throughout the three-day Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft, which concluded on Tuesday afternoon.
Multiple firsts were reached this week as the league produced a first-round pick in consecutive years and four over the first two rounds -- all within the first 60 overall picks -- for the first time in league history. In addition, the 13 names called through the first half of the 20-round draft are a new record.
Click here for a full list of 2021 draftees.
After Boston College outfielder Sal Frelick (North Shore '18. '20) became the highest draft pick in league history as the No. 15 overall selection by the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday, Fordham southpaw Matt Mikulski (Martha’s Vineyard ‘18) was the first of three league alumni picked in Monday’s second round. The former Shark was chosen 50th overall by the San Francisco Giants.
Another Futures Leaguer from BC came off the board to the Miami Marlins two picks later in former All-FCBL infielder Cody Morissette (Nashua ‘18, North Shore ‘20). The Eagle prospects made their league debuts before heading to the Heights in 2018 and both earned FCBL All-Star spots. After their pandemic-shortened sophomore seasons, Frelick and Morisette reunited in the league last summer and were both named to the All-FCBL First Team.
The third and final FCBL pick of the second round belonged to the Oakland Athletics in the form of infielder Zack Gelof (Brockton '18), who helped his University of Virginia team to the College World Series in June.
Six of the eight current FCBL teams had at least one player chosen over the three days. Morissette was the first of a league-high six Nashua Silver Knight selections, while Gelof led off a handful of Rox.
Other highlights included three players being selected from 2021 rosters including the first-ever draftees from both the Vermont Lake Monsters and Norwich Sea Unicorns. Pitcher Owen Kellington, who joined the Lake Monsters after winning a Vermont state title with U-32 High School last month, was picked by Pittsburgh in the fourth round.
Norwich and former Quinnipiac catcher Colton Bender was a San Diego selection during the 10th round. In the 20th, Massachusetts high school outfielder Jackson Linn (Nashua) was chosen by Houston.
Maine’s Nick Sinacola (Brockton ‘19-’20) was the first of three FCBL Pitchers of the Year to be selected as he was drafted by San Francisco in the seventh round. The other two were both Los Angeles Angels picks -- Northeastern’s Brandon Dufault (Nashua ‘18-’20) and St. John’s southpaw Nick Mondak (Torrington ‘16) -- in the 16th and 18th, respectively.
The first pick on Tuesday was 2020 Most Valuable Player Ben Rice (Worcester ‘19-’20), a catcher from Dartmouth College who was one of four league products chosen by the New York Yankees over the course of the second and third days. Rice went in the 12th round. No MLB team selected more alumni than Boston’s archrival, but the Red Sox added to the register with the 17th-round selection of pitcher Luis Guerrero (Brockton ‘20).
Two-time All-FCBL outfielder Jared Dupere (Nashua ‘19-’20) followed his record home run-hitting season at Northeastern by earning a 13th-round nod from San Francisco, while his college teammate and 2020 FCBL Defensive Player of the Year Ben Malgeri (North Shore ‘19-’20) was called by Detroit in the 18th.
Founded in 2011, the FCBL is a wood-bat league featuring top collegiate baseball players from New England and throughout the country. More than two million fans have attended FCBL games since the league was established. On the field, over 200 alumni have been drafted by or signed with Major League Baseball organizations and six have advanced all the way to “The Show” including three during the first month of the 2021 season.
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