WEYMOUTH, Mass. (July 11, 2021) -- Sunday was a banner night for the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) as a league alum was selected in the first half of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft’s first round for the first time in the league’s 11-year history.
Boston College outfielder Sal Frelick (North Shore ‘18,’20) was drafted 15th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers, becoming the new highest pick in FCBL history. The league’s high draft standard has been raised in back-to-back years after current No. 1 Washington Nationals prospect Cade Cavalli (Pittsfield ‘17) heard his name called as the 22nd pick in 2020.
Frelick became the FCBL’s first two-time winner of the Top Pro Prospect honor last season after hitting a league-leading .398 with 12 extra-base hits in 24 games for the former-member North Shore Navigators. He made his league debut with the same team shortly after graduating from Lexington (Mass.) High School two years earlier, posting a .361 average with seven home runs and 36 RBI.
Frelick showed off his versatility by playing all three infield positions and the outfield during his time in the FCBL and made his presence known in the powerful Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) thereafter, settling in on the grass as an Eagle. After earning 2019 New England Rookie of the Year honors, he was named an ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove recipient, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and earned a spot on the All-ACC First Team following the 2021 season, which was his first as BC’s regular center fielder.
A three-sport high school star who was the Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year as a quarterback, Frelick hit .345 with 97 runs scored, 27 doubles, 12 home runs, 63 RBI and 38 stolen bases during his three years on the Heights.
In addition to Frelick’s selection, pitcher Frank Mozzicato of East Catholic High School (Manchester, Conn.) went to Kansas City as the No. 7 pick. The UConn-committed southpaw was signed to pitch for the Worcester Bravehearts this summer.
The only former Futures League player drafted in the first round prior to Cavalli last year was Shaw, who was the No. 31 overall pick (in the first compensation round) back in 2015. Shaw became the second of six alumni to reach “The Show” with the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 31, 2018. Like Frelick, Shaw is a native of Lexington, Mass., and played college ball at BC.
The FCBL will add to its list of 200-plus professional alumni as the 20-round draft continues over the next two days. Day 2 begins at 1 p.m. on Monday with Rounds 2-10. Rounds 11-20 begin at noon Tuesday.
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