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By Jacob Gill
Philadelphia Region Director of Scouting

Five Pennsylvania high school standouts were selected in the 2014 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft in early June. They were:

Josh Ockimey, 1B, Neumann-Goretti (Red Sox, 5th round, 146th overall)
J.J. Matijevic, SS, Norwin (Red Sox, 22nd round, 674th overall)
Taylor Lehman, LHP, Keystone Oaks (Marlins, 34th round, 1007th overall)
Brendan McKay, LHP, Blackhawk (Padres, 34th round, 1017th overall)
Andrew Bechtold, SS, Garnet Valley (Rangers, 37th round, 1116th overall)

Matijevic (Arizona), Lehman (Penn State), McKay (Louisville), and Bechtold (Maryland) did not sign with their selecting clubs and matriculated to their respective colleges this fall. Ockimey, however, accepted Boston's offer of a $450,000 signing bonus and reported to the Red Sox rookie-level affiliate in the Gulf Coast League. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound left-handed hitter, struggled in his first taste of professional baseball (.188 average with 37 strikeouts in 112 at-bats), not overly surprising for an 18-year-old whose present hit tool did not grade out as highly as his plus raw power.

For further details on these five players, as well as the nineteen alumni of Pennsylvania high schools who were drafted out of the college ranks, check out our draft recap article from June.

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