After four baseball players with Greater Cincinnati high school ties were selected on the second day of the Major League Baseball Draft, the final day resulted in just one.
Cole Ayers, a 2018 graduate of West Clermont High School, was taken in the 16th round with the 483rd pick overall by the New York Yankees. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound right-hander was slated to pitch for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats but soon will be on his way to Tampa to finalize his contract with one of sport's most recognizable teams.
"Who wouldn't want to be a Yankee?" Ayers said. "If you're a baseball fan, you've got to like the Yankees."
Ayers most recently pitched nearby Yankee headquarters in Tampa at State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, a prominent junior college for baseball. In two seasons, he was 8-4 with 114 strikeouts in 87.2 innings and a 3.80 ERA.
"It's unreal competition," Ayers said of the level of baseball at a southern JUCO. "I played at Kentucky, I played in the Cape (Cape Cod summer league), your top five hitters in Florida junior college baseball are going to be five pretty good hitters. They're usually transfers from DI. You're going up against the best of the best."
Ayers says his fastball sits 92-94 miles per hour and he's reached 95. His best pitch is the bender.
"I was in that new draft league they held this summer and they rated my curveball the best in the league for the past five or six weeks or so," Ayers said.
Ayers was originally drafted by the Houston Astros out of high school in the 36th round in 2018 when the draft lasted 40 rounds. He instead went to pitch for the Kentucky Wildcats where he struck out 19 in 20 innings in 26 appearances with a 4.05 ERA. He then transferred.
At West Clermont, he struck out 50 in 33 innings in his senior year with the Wolves and also hit .380. Prior to that, he was on Loveland's varsity for three seasons. His junior campaign he was 6-2 with a 2.10 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 40 innings.
That Loveland team also featured Luke Waddell (Georgia Tech) and Cal Conley (Texas Tech) at shortstop and second base, respectively. Conley went in round four and Waddell in round five to the Braves on Monday.
"That shows the core infield I had behind me while I was pitching," Ayers said.
He had recently signed to come home and pitch with UC's Bearcats but now is ready to begin his pro career having participated in the MLB Draft League for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.
"I'm ready to make the most of it and ready to be a big leaguer," Ayers said. "On the track for New York City baby!"
The only other nearby draftee Tuesday was Jacob Webb, a Miami University pitcher out of Fairborn. Webb was selected in the 14th round, 406th overall. The 6-foot-3, 246-pound righty was a teammate of RedHawk first-round pick Sam Bachman. Webb was 1-2 with a 2.08 ERA with 59 strikeouts in 39 innings.
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