What Garrett Whitley’s Selection Means

The selection of Niskayuna OF Garrett Whitley is not just big for Garrett Whitley. It's not even just big for Niskayuna.

It's big for the Capital Region, and it's big for the Northeast.

We covered it all throughout our coverage of Whitley's draft prospects: Players in the Northeast generally go overlooked and underscouted. The weather and the inability to play all year long hurts draft prospects of kids like that.

However, with Whitley, and with Shaker's Jeff Hoffman (No. 9 overall) in 2014, the door continues to open for Capital Region ballplayers.

It shows players in this area that it is possible to reach the pinnacle of baseball.

Tim Stauffer (Twins, MLB), Tommy Kahnle (Rockies, AAA), Jaime Schultz (Rays, AA), Brendan Harris (Tigers, AA), Hoffman (Blue Jays, A), Mike Fish (Angels, A), JP Sportman (A's, A), Branden Cogswell (A's, A), and Justin Brantley (Indians, A) are all local players currently playing in professional, affiliated baseball.