Long Island has always been able to produce plenty of talent that get drafted into the Major League Baseball draft, but this year the amount of quality players that were taken were as impressive as any group that we have seen.
From Hall of Famers like Carl Yastrzemski and Craig Biggio to players like Neal Heaton who went #1 overall, Long Islanders have always had someone to root for on draft night to see where they would be heading in their careers. This past week's MLB Draft had more than one star name, and it seemed all of Suffolk County was keeping an eye on where these youngsters would wind up.
Leading that impressive group was Michael Oliveto. Oliveto didn't have to wait long to hear his name called as the catcher from Hauppauge High School was selected in the first round. The power hitting backstop, who led the County in home runs this past season and also when he was a junior, was taken by the Detroit Tigers with the 34th overall selection. Oliveto had previously committed to play baseball for the Yale Bulldogs, but getting selected in the first round leaves him with a hard decision.
Rocky Point's Cody Miller was then picked in the 3rd round by the Atlanta Braves. Miller was drafted out of college as he opted to go to East Tennessee State after graduating from Rocky Point three years ago. Miller was chosen 96th overall. He was a fixture for East Tennessee State at shortstop where he started every game. His calling card is his offense where he hit .331 with 18 home runs, 58 RBI and 27 stolen bases.
Later in the draft the Royals added to the Suffolk County count of players selected when they took Brentwood's Randy Ramnarace. Ramnarace is a pitcher who has been on the mound for the University of New Haven. He went in the 20th round after compiling a 2.51 ERA and 45 K's in just 32.1 innings this past year for the Chargers, he also added 3 saves.
Also in the 20th round Miller Place's Nick Frusco was selected by the Pirates. The pitcher had his roots all through the Town of Brookhaven as he began playing for North Shore Little League. MLB.com immediately wrote about him "If you like projectable lefties, then Frusco might be the prospect for you. At 6-foot-4 and 208 pounds, it’s easy to dream on more physicality and a lot more velocity."
Frusco still might choose to go to college to turn that projectable approach into more scout friendly results as he is a Clemson commit. He can go to college and up his draft stock and we will be back on his draft watch in 2028.