Baseball: Mattituck grad drafted by Tampa Bay Rays
Steve Ascher, a former standout pitcher who led Mattituck to a Long Island Championship in 2011, was drafted this afternoon by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 17 round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.
The news came just after his former team took the field for a regional final after winning another Long Island crown yesterday.
Ascher, a 6-foot lefty, is coming off a superb junior season at SUNY Oneonta. He was honored with the Don Axtell Pitcher of the Year award, given to the top pitcher in the State University of New York Athletic Conference. He posted a 6-4 record and a 1.82 ERA. He struck out 82 while walking 20 in 69.1 innings. He allowed 14 earned runs all season and threw the most innings of any Oneonta pitcher.
Ascher was the 517th overall pick in the draft and the 17th selection for the Rays.
17 (517): @RaysBaseball select SUNY Oneonta LHP Steve Ascher. http://t.co/ZkO6dUAv1w #MLBDraft
— MLB Draft Tracker (@MLBDraftTracker) June 7, 2014
The Rays were one of three teams, along the with the Mets and Dodgers, that Ascher had pre-draft workouts with, his mother Karen Ascher said. Ascher had just reported to play for the Cotuit Kettleers in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League for the summer.
The Rays have until July 15 to sign Ascher to a minor league contract.
