Jadd Schmeltzer | Jewish Baseball News

10 Jewish draftees: where are they playing?

July 10, 2011 (Sunday)

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — A total of 10 Jewish ballplayers were selected in the 2011 amateur draft, one more than we last reported. So where are they playing, and how well?

Here, in draft order, are the 10 players, their minor-league assignments, and their performance at this early date:

Lenny Linsky, P (Tampa Bay Rays: 2nd round, 89th pick overall). Playing for the “A-short season” Hudson Valley Renegades, where, in his only appearance, he recorded two strikeouts and two walks over one inning.
Adam Ehrlich, C (St. Louis Cardinals: 6th round, 200th pick overall). Playing for the rookie-league GCL Cardinals, where he is hitting .250/.400/.458 (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) with 1 HR and 4 RBIS in 24 at-bats.
Nick Rickles, C (Oakland A’s: 14th round, 436th overall). After playing three games for the rookie-league AZL Athletics, Rickles was sent to the “A-short season” Vermont Lake Monsters. Overall, he is hitting .303/.425/.485 with 2 doubles, 2 triples, and 4 RBIs in 33 at-bats.
Jack Marder, C (Seattle Mariners: 16th round, 483rd overall). Unsigned.
Zach Borenstein, OF/3B (Los Angeles Angels: 23rd round, 705th overall). Playing for the rookie-league AZL Athletics, where he is hitting .270/.372/.459 with 2 triples, 1 HR, and 5 RBIs in 37 at-bats.
David Colvin, P (Seattle Mariners: 27th round, 813rd overall). Playing for the rookie-league Pulaski Mariners, where he is 0-1 but has a 0.00 ERA, 9 strikeouts, and 3 walks over 9 innings.
Max Perlman, P (Oakland A’s: 35th round, 1,066th overall). Playing for the AZL Athletics with fellow Jewish draftee Nick Rickles, Perlman is 1-2 with a 4.76 ERA, 19 strikeouts, and 4 walks over 17 innings.
Corey Baker, P (St. Louis Cardinals: 49th round, 1,490th overall). Playing for the “A-short season” Batavia Muckdogs, where he is 1-1 with a 3.65 ERA, 6 strikeouts, and 1 walk over 12-and-one-third innings.
Jadd Schmeltzer, P (Boston Red Sox: 49th round, 1,492nd overall). Playing for the rookie-league GCL Red Sox, where he is 0-2 with a 3.24 ERA, 4 strikeouts, and 4 walks over 8-and-one-third innings.
Benny Sosnick, 2B (San Francisco Giants: 49th round, 1,497th overall). Unsigned.

Nine of the 10 draftees were identified in prior Jewish Baseball News articles (one, two, three). The latest addition, thanks to Jewish Sports Review, is Adam Ehrlich.

Adam Ehrlich

The second-highest Jewish draft pick last month, Ehrlich was one of just two Jews drafted out of high school. He is a 2011 graduate of Campbell Hall H.S., an Episcopal school in North Hollywood, Calif., where he hit .566 with 5 HRs and 49 RBIs as a senior. Ehrlich had signed a letter-of-intent to play at Loyola Marymount University.

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Articles Adam Ehrlich, Benny Sosnick, Corey Baker, David Colvin, Jack Marder, Jadd Schmeltzer, Lenny Linsky, Max Perlman, Nick Rickles, Zach Borenstein

Tally of Jews in 2011 draft reaches 8

June 19, 2011 (Sunday)

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — The running count of Jews chosen in the 2011 MLB draft has reached 8.

Last week we reported that at least four of the 1,500 players selected in the three-day amateur draft were Jewish. But thanks to help from Jewish Baseball News reader Dan Cooper, we have identified 4 more. They are:

Nick Rickles (Oakland A’s: 14th round, 436th overall pick). A 6’3″ catcher who just completed his junior year at Stetson University, the Loxahatchee, Fla., native led his team in batting average (.347/tied), HRs (12), doubles (20), and slugging percentage (.600) in 2011. Rickles, named a second-team All-American by Baseball America, struck out just 10 times in 245 at-bats — giving him more HRs than strikeouts — while drawing 25 walks. He was the 7th toughest batter to strike out in NCAA/Division I play this year. According to this article, he was “expected to go 10 rounds higher and might be tough to sign in this round.”

Jack Marder (Seattle Mariners: 16th round, 483rd overall). A 6’0″ catcher (and converted shortstop) who just completed his sophomore year at the University of Oregon, the Calabasas, Calif., native showed good speed in 2011 (10 stolen bases in 13 attempts) but only modest success at the plate, hitting .209 with 2 HRs, 19 RBIs, and a .360 on-base percentage.

Harvard University may have compiled a miserable 9-36 record in 2011, but that didn’t stop Max Perlman (Oakland A’s: 35th round, 1,066th overall pick) from excelling. A 6’7″ starting pitcher who just graduated from Harvard University, the Longwood, Fla., native missed most of his sophomore and junior seasons with an elbow injury (and Tommy John surgery) but struck gold during his senior year, leading all Ivy Leaguers with an 1.80 ERA, holding opposing teams to a .213 batting average, and recording more strikeouts (55) than hits surrendered (46). (See local article on him.)

Jadd Schmeltzer (Boston Red Sox: 49th round, 1,492nd pick). A 6’5″ starting pitcher who just graduated from Cornell University, the Tappan, N.Y., native went 3-4 with a 3.63 ERA and was named Pitcher of the Year on a team that finished 2011 with a 10-30 record.