Senior baseball players Michael Slaten and Daryl Myers have been invited to play in the Major League Baseball Draft League this upcoming summer.
The MLB Draft League is a new collegiate league created in January. Its mission is to find collegiate players most eligible for the 2021 MLB Draft. The league will include six teams based in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey and most recently added, Maryland.
The MLB Draft League plans to play a 68-game season. This league will allow scouts from the major league teams to take a look at these players’ talents on the field.
This isn’t the first time that Slaten and Myers will be playing in the same summer league together. Though they do not know if they will be playing with or against each other, both Slaten and Myers think that will make the experience better for them.
“A couple years ago, I had played with Daryl in the same summer league. We weren’t on the same team but we did get to play against each other a couple times and that was really cool,” Slaten said.
Along with getting invited to the MLB Draft League, Slaten has also earned NAIA Preseason All-American honors for being one of the best players coming into this season.
“Getting both preseason All-American and being invited to the Draft League for me, it’s taken a ton of stress off me and honestly it’s made me more excited for this spring,” said Slaten.
Slaten has a career batting average of .437, a slugging percentage of .877, a .530 on base percentage to go along with 195 hits, 150 RBIs and 43 home runs for his career thus far. He hopes to capitalize on his performance through this experience.
Myers thinks that getting an opportunity for the MLB Draft League is huge for the Benedictine baseball club. Just like Slaten, he was surprised but very excited for this opportunity in the future.
“It was super unexpected, our name was thrown in there by Coach Peterson and we just didn’t know whether it was going to happen or not,” Myers said. “We know it’s like the best league to be in right now. We were both ecstatic as soon as we got the invite.”
Myers has a career batting average of .383, a slugging percentage of .641 to go along with 152 runs scored, 142 RBIs and 210 hits for his career thus far.
Both players also see their leadership as an important role for their team.
“I think me and Michael both just carry leadership in itself whether it’s verbal or just people watch what we do. Just kind of going all out everyday. Lead by example,” Myers said.
Coach Peterson has very high hopes for Slaten and Myers in the MLB Draft League along with the entire Raven baseball team as a whole to compete in the postseason for a championship. He wants them both to have success that will also lead to the team’s success.
“I just couldn’t be more prouder of those guys, the hard work is paying off and they’re getting recognized for doing that and I think it reflects well on the program,” Peterson said.
The Raven Baseball team opens up their 2021 season this Friday at home with a double-header against Dordt University.
