Published: June 16, 2009 10:55 pm         

TRIBUNE-STAR EDITORIAL: Valley baseball prodigies snatched up by White Sox

TERRE HAUTE — The Chicago White Sox probably expanded their Wabash Valley fan base last week. The reasons should be a source of local pride and excitement.

The White Sox selected three young players from this area in the 2009 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. The Chicago club used lofty picks to land the trio. The most high-profile choice came Tuesday night, when the Sox drafted Terre Haute native Josh Phegley, a hard-hitting catcher. He was the 38th player selected overall in the draft, during the “compensation round” between the first and second rounds. (That process helps teams that lost players to free agency.)

Phegley, who starred at Terre Haute North Vigo High School and Indiana University, is now the highest MLB draft pick in Terre Haute history.

When the three-day draft continued Wednesday, Chicago also chose Terre Haute outfielder Nick Ciolli in the 10th round (the 313th player picked overall), and Brazil outfielder Brady Shoemaker in the 19th round (583rd overall).

All three players have legitimate chances to someday reach the big leagues. Phegley won the Mr. Baseball award as Indiana’s top high school player in 2006, and this season racked up 17 home runs, 66 RBI and a .344 batting average as a junior for IU. Ciolli, Phegley’s former North teammate, batted .401 for Indiana State University this spring with a team-high 50 RBI as a junior. Shoemaker, a Northview High School product and Ciolli’s college teammate, led ISU in eight offensive categories, including homers with 14 as a senior.

(Yet another local player, recent West Vigo High School graduate Jeremy Lucas — a solid-hitting catcher — got picked Thursday in Round 35 by the Baltimore Orioles.)

If Phegley, Ciolli and Shoemaker sign contracts and don uniforms of White Sox farm clubs, it won’t be the first time they’ve worn matching jerseys. That trio led Terre Haute’s Wayne Newton Post 346 to the American Legion Baseball World Series in 2006.

This community shares some history with the White Sox, too. The American League club conducted its spring training camp in Terre Haute in 1945. Also, Terre Haute native Tommy John pitched for Chicago’s southsiders from 1965 to ’71.

The climb through the ranks of professional baseball is full of uncertainties, and the odds are probably steep that all three White Sox draftees will wind up reunited with the big-league club in Chicago. Still, Phegley, Ciolli and Shoemaker are strong hitters, and that quality improves their chances greatly.

In the meantime, the families, schools and community behind Phegley, Ciolli, Shoemaker and Lucas carry high hopes for their future.