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Wheeler Makes It Six Straight Years With First Round Pick

June 11, 2009

Orleans, Mass. – The Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft concluded this week and the Orleans Firebirds were highly represented.

For the sixth consecutive year the Firebirds (formerly known as the Cardinals) have had a player selected in the first or supplemental round of the draft.  OF Tim Wheeler (Sacramento St./2008) was chosen 32^nd overall by the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.  The Sacramento, Calif. native hit .265 last year for Orleans and stole 15 bases en route to being named a starter for the East Division All-Star team.

Other Firebirds alumni selected in the first/supplemental round:

2009:   Brad Boxberger (Southern Cal/2007) – 43^rd overall to Cincinnati

2008:   RHP Ryan Perry (Arizona/2007) – 21^st overall to Detroit

2007:   C Matt Wieters (Georgia Tech/2006) – 5^th overall to Baltimore

            RHP Andrew Brackman (NC State/2006) – 30^th overall to New York Yankees

            RHP Brett Cecil (Maryland/2006) – 38^th overall to Toronto

2006:   INF Emmanuel Burriss (Kent State/2005) – 33^rd overall to San Francisco

2005:   INF Tyler Greene (Georgia Tech/2004) – 30^th overall to St. Louis

            RHP Matt Torra (Massachusetts/2004) – 31^st overall to Arizona

2004:   LHP Billy Bray (William & Mary/2003) 13^th overall to Montreal

            LHP David Purcey (Oklahoma/2003) 16^th overall to Toronto

The Firebirds had 25 players total drafted from their 2007, 2008 and 2009 squads including six in the top ten rounds.  RHP Brad Boxberger (Southern Cal/2007) went in the first supplemental round to Cincinnati.  He made the East Division All-Star team for Orleans in 2007 before pitching for Chatham last summer.

1B Rich Poythress (Georgia/2008) and OF Angelo Songco (LMU/2008) went in the second and fourth rounds respectively.  Both hitters were crucial power bats in the middle of the order for the 2008 Orleans team that won the Eastern Division regular season crown.

The Firebirds also had three players drafted who spent multiple summers in Orleans.  1B Nate Freiman (Duke/2007-08), C Travis Tartamella (Cal State L.A./2007-08) and RHP Brad Gemberling (Princeton/2007-08) will all have an opportunity to play professional baseball after spending the 2007 and 2008 seasons with the ‘Birds.  Freiman also played a large part in the success of the Duke baseball team this year as he set the school’s career homerun record with 43 bombs.

Orleans also had five players selected from this year’s roster.  OF Alex Hassan (Duke/2008-09), LHP Matt Packer (Virginia/2009), OF Westley Moss (Nevada/2009), RHP Mike Ness (Duke/2009) and RHP Xavier Esquivel (LMU/2009) all are expected to play for the Firebirds this summer although it is unclear at this time if any of them will sign with the teams they were drafted by.

Total list of Firebirds alumni chosen in this year’s draft:

1^st round – OF Tim Wheeler (Sacramento St./2008) – 32^nd overall to Colorado

1A round – RHP Brad Boxberger (Southern Cal/2007) – 43^rd overall to Cincinnati

2^nd round – 1B Rich Poythress (Georgia/2008) – 51^st overall to Seattle

4^th round – OF Angelo Songco (LMU/2008) – 127^th overall to Los Angeles Dodgers

7^th round – RHP Brad Stillings (Kent State/2008) – 222^nd overall to Minnesota

8^th round – 1B Nate Freiman (Duke/2007-08) – 234^th overall to San Diego

11^th round – LHP Adam Wilk (Long Beach St./2008) – 330^th overall to Detroit

12^th round – RHP Matt Thomson (San Diego/2008) – 360^th overall to Detroit

13^th round – RHP Nick Christiani (Vanderbilt/2007) – 389^th overall to Cincinnati

19^th round – C Travis Tartamella (Cal State L.A./2007-08) – 579^th to St. Louis

20^th round – RHP Kyle Smith (Kent State/2008) – 605^th overall to Cleveland

20^th round – OF Alex Hassan (Duke/2008-09) – 618^th overall to Boston

20^th round – LHP Eric Erickson (Miami/2008) – 620^th overall to Chicago Cubs

22^nd round – RHP Sam Brown (NC State/2007) – 664^th overall to Texas

24^th round – RHP Brad Gemberling (Princeton/2007-08) – 726^th overall to Arizona

32^nd round – LHP Matt Packer (Virginia/2009) – 965^th overall to Cleveland

34^th round – OF Westley Moss (Nevada/2009) – 1025^th overall to Cleveland

34^th round – LHP Isaac Morales (Cal State L.A./2008) – 1028^th overall to Florida

34^th round – INF Kyle Spraker (LMU/2008) – 1039^th overall to Tampa Bay

46^th round – 1B Tony Plagman (Georgia Tech/2008) – 1395^th overall to NY Yankees

47^th round – LHP Justin Earls (Georgia/2008) – 1405^th overall to Pittsburgh

47^th round – RHP Mike Ness (Duke/2009) – 1407^th overall to San Francisco

47^th round – 1B Jose Jimenez (Tampa/2007) – 1431^st overall to Los Angeles Angels

48^th round – RHP Jason Novak (UCLA/2007) – 1449^th overall to St. Louis

49^th round – RHP Xavier Esquivel (LMU/2009) – 1485^th overall to NY Yankees

The Orleans Firebirds will begin their season on Friday, June 12^th at 5:00 p.m. when they make the short bus ride to play at Yarmouth-Dennis.  They’ll return to Orleans for Saturday’s home opener at Eldredge Park against Brewster.  First pitch for that game is scheduled at 7:00 p.m.