Five With Bellevue Ties Selected in Major League Baseball Draft

Five ball players with Bellevue ties were among the 1,530 drafted in the 2011 Major League Baseball first-year player draft and five have Bellevue ties.

Right-handed pitchers Cole Wiper and Jared Fisher of were selected in the 14th and 26th rounds, respectively.

Wiper, 6'4, 185-pound senior, was selected in the 14th round by the Toronto Blue Jays. Wiper, who has signed of a letter-of-intent to play at the University of Oregon, is coming off a season in which he went 4-2 with one save in 48 2/3 innings. Wiper struck out 73, while allowing only 26 hits and posting a 1.01 ERA.

The 6'4, 235-pound Fisher was drafted in the 26th round by the Houston Astros. The UW-commit posted a 1.92 ERA in 52 innings, while striking out 64 in going 8-2 on the season. Fisher and Wiper helped lead Newport to the second round of the 4A state tournament in 2011.

Three players were also drafted. Former Skyline High School player Adrian Sampson went in the 16th round to the Florida Marlins, while left-fielder Kyle Conwell went in the 22nd round to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Former BC player Cody Edwards was drafted in the 50th round by the Chicago Cubs.

Sampson, a 6'3 200-pound right-handed pitcher, went 4-2 for Bellevue College in 2011, with a 2.36 ERA in 45 2/3 innings. Sampson threw four complete games, while striking out 53 and walking 15.

Conwell, a 6'2, 200-pound outfielder, led the BC baseball team in hitting with a .397 average. Conwell hit four homeruns with 38 RBI's and eight stolen bases.

Edwards, who played for Bellevue College in 2010, was drafted in the 50th round. Patch could find no record of his playing in 2011.