MLB draft diverted Carpenter Cup talent

The Inter-Ac/Independents team that will compete in the 25th annual Carpenter Cup tournament still has a formidable roster, but no squad was affected more by Major League Baseball's draft.

The team had three players selected in the draft who will not be competing in the tournament that begins Monday at Ashburn Field at FDR Park, down the road from Citizens Bank Park, where the semifinals and finals will be staged.

A player who is drafted is eligible for the high school all-star tournament if he does not sign with a professional team. That rule eliminated Germantown Friends lefthander Jesse Biddle, who signed with the Phillies after being selected in the first round, 27th overall.

Two drafted players from Germantown Academy also will not be playing, according to Germantown Academy coach John Duffy, who is an assistant for the Inter-Ac/Independents team.

GA infielder Sean Coyle was a third-round pick of the Boston Red Sox and Keenan Kish, a righthander, was selected by the New York Yankees in the 34th round.

According to Duffy, Kish, who has a scholarship to the University of Florida, has a college summer league commitment and Coyle, who has committed to North Carolina, has decided not to participate as he weighs his options.

There will still be plenty of young talent on the Inter-Ac/Independents team, led by Germantown Academy catcher Chris Harvey. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Harvey ended up catching the entire game last year in the Inter-Ac/Bicentennial's 3-1 loss to Lehigh Valley. He went 0 for 2 with two walks.

"He is highly ranked in the sophomore class and has been invited to Team USA Tournament to try out for the Under-18 National Team," Duffy said. "He could be the next guy from our program to get drafted."

The team's pitching is strong, led by righthander Matt Lengel, a Villanova recruit from Inter-Ac champion Haverford School, and Malvern Prep junior lefthander Chris O'Brien.

Duffy will be glad to compete with Lengel instead of against him after the 6-foot-3 righthander struck out seven in a complete-game 5-1 win over Germantown Academy to clinch the Inter-Ac championship on May 19.

"He is an outstanding pitcher," Duffy said.

One drafted pitcher who is expected to compete in the Carpenter Cup is Marple Newtown lefthander Chris Kirsch, a 13th-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who is on the roster of the Delaware County squad.

"We expect to use him in the middle innings of our first game," said Haverford High coach Paul Bogosian, the general manager of the Delaware County squad, whose team opens action Tuesday at 4 p.m. against the Suburban One American/Continental.

Pitching will be the strong suit for the Delaware County team. The staff includes junior righthander Brian Bosco of Strath Haven, the winning pitcher in an 8-1 District I AAA championship victory over Holy Ghost Prep; Conestoga senior righthander Slater McCue, a Rutgers recruit; and Radnor junior righthander Connor Walsh, who struck out 19 batters in a 4-3 loss to Haverford High in April.

The defending Carpenter Cup champion is Burlington County, which beat Suburban One National/Bicentennial, 2-1, in last year's championship game.