Locals don't figure as impact players in draft

The local crop gets short shrift from the Baseball America folks. Last season, Roxbury Latin pitcher Jack McGeary was the sixth-round draft pick of the Washington Nationals, which gave McGeary a $1.8 million signing bonus and cut a unique arrangement whereby McGeary was permitted to attend classes at Stanford University.

This year, no one from Massachusetts cracked BA's list of top 200 prospects. Keith Landers, a left-handed pitcher from St. Peter's-Marian High School in Worcester, is the top-rated player in the state, while Boston College pitcher Dan Houston was the top college pick.

Connecticut and Rhode Island fared a little better: shortstop-outfielder Anthony Hewitt of the Salisbury (Conn.) School ranked No. 41 on the top 200 list, while outfielder Ryan Westmoreland of Portsmouth (R.I.) High was 113th. Yale catcher Ryan Lavarnway came in 186th.

As for New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont, BA couldn't have been more dismissive: "Upper New England is a wasteland for professional baseball talent in 2008,'' the magazine wrote. Shortstop-third baseman Scott Savastano of Franklin Pierce (N.H.) College was listed as the only player to figure to be picked in the first 10 rounds; Maine outfielder Billy Cather was also mentioned.